Term ends Dec 1, 2026 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Dec 1, 2026
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Filed Mar 14, 2016 as application 15/068,801 · Granted Nov 21, 2017
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Dec 1, 2006
Dec 1, 2006
Term ends
Dec 1, 2026
Dec 1, 2026
Granted
Nov 21, 2017
Nov 21, 2017
base term
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
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.
17
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 2 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 Dec 1, 2006, when application 11/566,005, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Mar 14, 2016); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Dec 1, 2026 | 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 2 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Dec 1, 2026 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,773,182 | Lapsed on the fee record Aug 2018 | Aug 2018 |
| US 7,880,848 | In force Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 8,164,729 | In force Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 8,619,227 | In force Jan 2027 | Jan 2027 |
| US 9,316,881 | In force Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 9,235,090 | In force Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 9,823,526 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 9,904,127 | In force Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
8 of 17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 12, 2016 Reel 38571, frame 292 | Kimura, Hajime; Uochi, Hideki | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's 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
Dec 2026
Term ends Dec 1, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
22
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
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.