Term ends Mar 11, 2031 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Mar 11, 2031
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Held by Biomet Ltd.
Filed Nov 7, 2014 as application 14/535,542 · Granted Jan 31, 2017
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2011
2031
Clock starts
Mar 11, 2011
Mar 11, 2011
Term ends
Mar 11, 2031
Mar 11, 2031
Granted
Jan 31, 2017
Jan 31, 2017
base term
fee events
Updated Nov 15, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 15, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
2 of 3
Maintenance fees paid
Three maintenance fees fall due, at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years from grant. This counts the ones the record shows paid.
4
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
This patent's term is its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. 2 of 3 maintenance fees are paid so far. Confidence: Medium. from the record
How we calculated this date
One row per rule, each showing its own input and what it did to the date. A step we could not verify says so instead of resolving itself.
| Step | Input | Date after this step | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base term, 20 years from filing | Clock starts Mar 11, 2011, when application PCT/GB2011/050486, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Nov 7, 2014); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Mar 11, 2031 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | A parent in the chain could not be resolved | dated from this application's own claim | Medium confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | None on record | no cap applied | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Mar 11, 2031 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 9,554,912 | this patent Mar 2031 | Mar 2031 |
| US 10,350,077 | In force Mar 2031 | Mar 2031 |
2 of 4 applications in this family shown, earliest filings first. The applications whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Sources
Google Patents · The patent document at USPTO · Assignment records at USPTO
USPTO account required: This application in Patent Center · USPTO's maintenance fee lookup
Maintenance fee events come from USPTO's own fee records. Its fee lookup asks for the patent number and the application number.
What's changing
Mar 2031
Term ends Mar 11, 2031. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Citations
2
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2017 in our data, the only group it is compared against.
How we rank
Every date shows its work: the base term, any term adjustment or extension, any disclaimer cap, and the maintenance fee record, each with a confidence tier. How this record was built
Computed patent terms end on the dates shown. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.
In force means the term is running and no lapse is on record. It is not a finding that the patent is valid.