Also listed on Friendster, Inc., an earlier holder on the record. The recorded assignments below show how it moved.
Term ends Jan 6, 2029 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Sep 12, 2026
Held by Meta Platforms, Inc.
Filed Sep 12, 2006 as application 11/531,154 · Granted Oct 24, 2017
Base term plus 847 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2029
Clock starts
Sep 12, 2006
Sep 12, 2006
Term ends
Jan 6, 2029
Jan 6, 2029
Granted
Oct 24, 2017
Oct 24, 2017
base term
patent term adjustment
fee events
Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
847
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
2 of 2
Maintenance fees paid
Two maintenance fees can end this term early, the ones due 3.5 and 7.5 years from grant; the third one's grace period runs past the term end. This counts the ones the record shows paid.
12
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 runs 847 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 2 of 2 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 Sep 12, 2006, when this application, 11/531,154, was filed | Sep 12, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +847 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jan 6, 2029 | 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 2 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jan 6, 2029 | High confidence |
This family
| US 9,798,789 | this patent Jan 2029 | Jan 2029 |
| US 8,037,093 | Term ended Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 8,694,542 | In force Jan 2027 | Jan 2027 |
| US 8,874,546 | Term ended no later than Sep 2026 | no later than Sep 2026 |
| US 8,874,612 | Term ended Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 10,412,179 | In force Mar 2031 | Mar 2031 |
| US 10,353,915 | Term ended Sep 2026 | Sep 2026 |
| US 10,171,599 | Term ended Sep 2026 | Sep 2026 |
8 of 12 applications in this family shown, earliest filings first. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 2006 Reel 18236, frame 727 | Lindstrom, Kent; Mackinnon, Ross A | Friendster Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 22, 2009 Reel 23691, frame 700 | Friendster, Inc. | Balthaser Online, Inc. | Security Agreement |
| Feb 9, 2010 Reel 23915, frame 424 | Balthaser Online, Inc. | Friendster, Inc. | Release of Limited Intellectual Property Security Agreement |
| Jun 7, 2010 Reel 24492, frame 139 | Friendster, Inc. | Facebook, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 24, 2010 Reel 24878, frame 801 | Friendster, Inc. | Facebook, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 20, 2021 Reel 58553, frame 802 | Facebook, Inc. | Meta Platforms, Inc. | Change of Name |
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
Jan 2029
Term ends Jan 6, 2029. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 847 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
151
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.