Method and Apparatus for Selectively Enabling a Microprocessor-Based System

US 9,626,514 Term ended

Term ended Dec 20, 2022 · Medium confidence

Computed 20-year base term

Why Medium: The disclaimer's references carry disclaimers of their own not yet read (US 7,962,760, US 8,041,933, US 8,434,144), so the cap could be lower.

USPTO later recorded it as expired for non-payment on May 26, 2025.

Held by MediaTek Inc.

Filed Oct 22, 2014 as application 14/521,341 · Granted Apr 18, 2017

Base term, 20 years from filing

Today

20 years from filing

Term ended Dec 20, 2022

2002 2026

Clock starts
Dec 20, 2002

Term ended
Dec 20, 2022

Granted
Apr 18, 2017

base term after the term ends 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.

No effect

Terminal disclaimer

Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,587,613, US 7,962,760, US 8,041,933, US 8,434,144, US 8,881,270, to Dec 20, 2022. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.

1 of 1

Maintenance fees paid

One maintenance fee can end this term early, the one due 3.5 years from grant; the next one's grace period runs past the term end. This counts it if the record shows it paid.

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 Dec 20, 2002, when the earliest non-provisional application in its chain was filed (this one was filed Oct 22, 2014)	Dec 20, 2022	High confidence
Continuity chain	Every parent in the chain resolved	no change	High confidence
Patent term adjustment	None on file	no change	High confidence
Terminal disclaimer cap	Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 7,587,613, US 7,962,760, US 8,041,933, US 8,434,144, US 8,881,270)	resolves to Dec 20, 2022, no earlier than this term, so no change	Medium confidence
Patent term extension	None on file	no change	High confidence
Fee events	1 of 1 maintenance fees paid	term ended	High confidence
USPTO status record	Recorded as expired for non-payment on May 26, 2025, after the term ended	no change	High confidence
Computed term end	The steps above, in order	Dec 20, 2022	Medium confidence

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.

Not on this page: the patent's family, its recorded assignments and its citation count. USPTO's assignment records, linked above, list every recorded assignment.

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.

Method and Apparatus for Selectively Enabling a Microprocessor-Based System

Term ended Dec 20, 2022 · Medium confidence

20-year base term ended Dec 20, 2022

How we calculated this date

Sources