Term ended no later than Mar 14, 2023 · Low confidence
20-year base term ended Mar 14, 2023
Reissue of US 7,041,481, which was surrendered when this reissue was granted; its term and maintenance fees continue here.
Filed Sep 27, 2010 as application 12/891,733 · Granted May 8, 2012
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Ended no later than Mar 14, 2023
2003
2026
Clock starts
Mar 14, 2003
Mar 14, 2003
Ended no later than
Mar 14, 2023
Mar 14, 2023
Granted
May 8, 2012
May 8, 2012
base term
after the term ends
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.
0 of 3
Maintenance fees paid
Three maintenance fees fall due, at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years from the original patent's grant (May 9, 2006). This counts the ones the record shows paid.
56
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. Confidence: Low. 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, 2003, when application 10/389,130, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Sep 27, 2010); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Mar 14, 2023 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | A reissue: its term follows the original patent's, with the original's term adjustment; a parent in the chain could not be resolved | dated from this application's own claim | Low confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | No term adjustment record on a grant after 2005, so none is added | no change | Medium 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 | The reissue's fees post to its original, whose fee record is not available (likely before 2001) | term ended | Medium confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | no later than Mar 14, 2023 | Low confidence |
This family
| US 7,041,481 | Surrendered on reissue Sep 2010 | Sep 2010 |
| Application 11/803,104 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US RE41,780 | Surrendered on reissue May 2012 | May 2012 |
| Application 12/504,764 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US RE43,365 | this patent no later than Mar 2023 | no later than Mar 2023 |
| US 9,074,242 | In force Feb 2031 | Feb 2031 |
| US RE45,539 | Term ended Mar 2023 | Mar 2023 |
| US 9,399,797 | In force Nov 2032 | Nov 2032 |
8 of 56 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2014 Reel 32371, frame 625 | Anderson, Brian L.; Colston, Billy W., JR.; Elkin, Chris | The Regents of the University of California | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 6, 2014 Reel 32371, frame 654 | The Regents of the University of California | Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Sep 24, 2014 Reel 33804, frame 855 | Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC | U.S. Department of Energy | Confirmatory License |
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
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, 2023. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
35
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% of utility patents granted in 2012 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.