Term ends no later than Mar 14, 2034 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Mar 14, 2034
In force on USPTO's status record and by its fee record. A terminal disclaimer on file may shorten this term, possibly to a date already past; its reference document is unresolved, so the date above is an upper bound and no earlier date is guessed.
Filed Jun 6, 2016 as application 15/174,783 · Granted Oct 31, 2017
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2014
2034
Clock starts
Mar 14, 2014
Mar 14, 2014
Ends no later than
Mar 14, 2034
Mar 14, 2034
Granted
Oct 31, 2017
Oct 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.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
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.
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 is its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. 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 14, 2014, when application PCT/US2014/028903, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jun 6, 2016) | Mar 14, 2034 | 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 on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | Medium 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 | no later than Mar 14, 2034 | Medium confidence |
This family
| Application PCT/US2014/028903 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 10,010,359 | In force Aug 2036 | Aug 2036 |
| US 9,358,054 | In force Mar 2034 | Mar 2034 |
| Application PCT/US2015/019976 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 9,788,878 | In force Mar 2034 | Mar 2034 |
| US 9,801,672 | this patent no later than Mar 2034 | no later than Mar 2034 |
| US 9,820,755 | In force Mar 2034 | Mar 2034 |
| US 10,307,193 | In force Mar 2034 | Mar 2034 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 2016 Reel 39467, frame 10 | Biomet Microfixation, LLC | Zimmer Biomet CMF and Thoracic, LLC | Change of Name |
| Sep 7, 2016 Reel 39937, frame 713 | Biomet Microfixation, LLC | Zimmer Biomet CMF and Thoracic, LLC | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Application Number 09408245 Number Should Be 09405245 Previously Recorded at Reel: 039467 Frame: 0010. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Assignment. |
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
Mar 2034
Term ends no later than Mar 14, 2034. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Mar 14, 2034. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
18
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% 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
This computed term ends no later than the date shown; an unresolved terminal disclaimer may end it earlier. 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.