Term ends May 19, 2036 · High confidence
20-year base term ends May 19, 2036
Held by Researchgate GmbH
Filed May 19, 2016 as application 15/158,989 · Granted Sep 5, 2017
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2016
2036
Clock starts
May 19, 2016
May 19, 2016
Term ends
May 19, 2036
May 19, 2036
Granted
Sep 5, 2017
Sep 5, 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.
5
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: High. 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 May 19, 2016, when this application, 15/158,989, was filed | May 19, 2036 | 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 | 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 | May 19, 2036 | High confidence |
This family
| US 9,753,922 | this patent May 2036 | May 2036 |
| US 10,650,059 | In force Feb 2037 | Feb 2037 |
| Application 15/950,010 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 10,558,712 | In force May 2036 | May 2036 |
| US 10,824,682 | In force May 2036 | May 2036 |
The applications whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Assignments
Assignment documents as recorded at the USPTO, oldest first, with the reel and frame each was recorded at. A recorded assignment is a filed document, not a statement of current ownership, and the absence of a later one is not evidence that the last one still stands.
| Recorded | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 23, 2017 Reel 41359, frame 396 | Häusler, Michael; Zholudev, Vyacheslav; Alvares, Darren; Fickenscher, Horst; Kelly, Niall | Researchgate GmbH | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 29, 2018 Reel 46735, frame 114 | Researchgate Corporation | Researchgate GmbH | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 7, 2019 Reel 50952, frame 439 | Researchgate GmbH | Obsidian Agency Services, Inc. | Security Interest |
| Jan 7, 2025 Reel 69773, frame 545 | Obsidian Agency Services, Inc. | Researchgate GmbH | Release of Security Interest |
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.
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
May 2036
Term ends May 19, 2036. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Citations
127
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% 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.