The Patent Finder
US

Systems, apparatus, and methods for creating an eternalism, an appearance of sustained three dimensional motion-direction of unlimited duration, using a finite number of images

US 9,942,487 Lapsed on the fee record
OverviewSources & methods

Lapsed Apr 10, 2022 on the fee record · From the USPTO record

First maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.

Named at grant Visual Effect Innovations, LLC · find this owner
Filed Sep 10, 2015 as application 14/850,629 · Granted Apr 10, 2018
Base term, 20 years from filing, plus 280 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Lapsed Apr 10, 2022
2002 2026
Clock starts
Jan 22, 2002
No longer in force
Apr 10, 2022
Granted
Apr 10, 2018
Term would have run to
Oct 29, 2022
base term patent term adjustment after the term ends 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
280
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
0 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 filingClock starts Jan 22, 2002, when the earliest non-provisional application in its chain was filed (this one was filed Sep 10, 2015); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row)Jan 22, 2022High confidence
Continuity chainA parent in the chain could not be resolveddated from this application's own claimMedium confidence
Patent term adjustment+280 days, USPTO patent term adjustment recordOct 29, 2022High confidence
Terminal disclaimer capNone on recordno cap appliedHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events0 of 1 maintenance fees paidlapsed Apr 10, 2022High confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderApr 10, 2022From the USPTO record

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.

The Patent Finder CompaniesExpirationsCalculatorWatchlistPricing MethodologyCorrectionsLegalPrivacysupport@thepatentfinder.com Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) Part of 137 Finder · © 2026 137 Finder LLC · Sources cited