126 patents currently held

27 more in force are now held by other companies

Held is read from USPTO's recorded assignments; a transfer never recorded there does not appear.

26 more records may belong here and await a decision; they are not counted.

The next term ends in Jun 2027. from the record

Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.

Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.

Ending by 2030

Jun 2027

Next term end

111

Patent families

When these terms end

5 yrs10 yrs20 yrs

Held patents by the year their term ends

20262027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045

notable patents fee due within 90 days all others 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

Notable: the highest-ranked patents in this portfolio by citations and family size. Fee due within 90 days: a maintenance fee is due within 90 days of when this page was computed and not yet paid.

Notable patents

Ranked by citations and family size, against patents of the same kind granted the same year. How we rank

Notable

Determining a Polarization-Related Characteristic of an Optical Link US 9,829,429

Cited by 27 later US patents, top 25% of utility patents granted in 2017 in our data, and renewed at every maintenance window due so far. Protection runs to 2027. A terminal disclaimer caps this term to an earlier patent's.

Ends Jun 2027 · High confidence Also notable

Multiple-Acquisition Otdr Method and Device US 8,576,389

Cited by 33 later US patents, top 25% of utility patents granted in 2013 in our data, and renewed at 3 of 3 maintenance windows. Protection runs to 2031.

Ends May 2031 · High confidence Also notable

Optical Power Measurement in a Passive Optical Network US 9,831,948

Cited by 18 later US patents, top 25% of utility patents granted in 2017 in our data, and renewed at every maintenance window due so far. Protection runs to 2036.

Ends Sep 2036 · High confidence

Fee deadlines

Maintenance fees fall due 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years after grant. A missed fee ends a patent at the end of the six month grace period that follows, not on the due date.

4 fees due Feb 6 to 18, 2027 · next Feb 6
1 fee due Mar 15, 2027
The maintenance fee for Bi-Directional Multi-Pulsewidth Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer (US 9,134,197) comes due Mar 15, 2027. Unpaid by Sep 15, 2027, it lapses early.
1 fee due Apr 27, 2027
The maintenance fee for Multiple-Acquisition Otdr Method and Device (US 9,170,173) comes due Apr 27, 2027. Unpaid by Oct 27, 2027, it lapses early.
1 fee due May 21, 2027
The maintenance fee for Signature Recognition on Optical-Fiber Connector Endfaces (US 11,821,808) comes due May 21, 2027. Unpaid by Nov 22, 2027, it lapses early.
1 fee due Jul 23, 2027
The maintenance fee for Testing Optical Fiber Link Continuity Using Otdr Backscattering Patterns (US 11,879,802) comes due Jul 23, 2027. Unpaid by Jan 24, 2028, it lapses early.
3 fees due Aug 6 to 25, 2027 · next Aug 6
2 fees due Sep 5 to 17, 2027 · next Sep 5

Which patents, and when each one lapses · Pro

Recent changes

6 of the patents on this record were granted since Aug 16, 2026

What they patent

The 5 largest of its 111 families, grouped by real patent family and labeled by the earliest filing in each. No technology classification is inferred from titles.

Multiple-Acquisition Otdr Method and Device	4 in force	to May 2031
Optical Power Measurement in a Passive Optical Network	3 in force	to Sep 2036
Method and Apparatus of Distributed Acoustic Sensing	2 in force	to Apr 2044
Optical Test Instrument with Removable Cartridge	2 in force	to Dec 2039
Otdr Receive Device with Connectivity Feedback	2 in force	to Jul 2039

Patents held now

Soonest term end first.

Patent	Title	Status	Expires	Confidence
US 9,829,429	Determining a Polarization-Related Characteristic of an Optical Link In force Term ends Jun 30, 2027 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Jun 30, 2027	High confidence
US 8,787,753	Method and System for Determining In-Band Optical Noise In force Term ends Apr 4, 2028 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Apr 4, 2028	High confidence
US 8,364,034	In-Band Optical Noise Measurement Using Differential Polarization Response In force Term ends May 8, 2028 · High confidence	In force	Term ends May 8, 2028	High confidence
US D710,222	Portable Test Instrument In force Term ends Aug 5, 2028 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Aug 5, 2028	High confidence
US D713,751	Optical Fiber Inspection Probe In force Term ends Sep 23, 2028 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Sep 23, 2028	High confidence
US D739,277	Portable Test Instrument In force Term ends Sep 22, 2029 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Sep 22, 2029	High confidence
US D739,429	Display Screen or Portion Thereof with Graphical User Interface In force Term ends Sep 22, 2029 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Sep 22, 2029	High confidence
US D742,394	Display Screen, or Portion Thereof, with Graphical User Interface for an Optical Fiber Microscope In force Term ends Nov 3, 2029 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Nov 3, 2029	High confidence
US D751,434	Optical Fiber Inspection Probe In force Term ends Mar 15, 2030 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Mar 15, 2030	High confidence
US 8,687,957	Method and Apparatus for Deriving Parameters of Optical Paths in Optical Networks Using Two-Wavelength Otdr and a Wavelength-Dependent Reflective Element In force Term ends Jun 13, 2030 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Jun 13, 2030	High confidence

10 of 126 patents shown.

Pro members see all 126.

Pro members: see all 126 patents

Also on record, not counted in the 126: 27 patents in force now held by others · 39 patents ended · 28 applications pending · 9 applications abandoned. List them

Sources and methods

Compiled from USPTO application file histories, grants and recorded assignments, with the company's own names reviewed by hand. How this record was built

Portfolio grouped automatically from ownership conveyances to the names matched to this company, usually every name that begins with its own, so it counts patents an affiliate holds; each list row names the holder of record. Security interests are excluded and ambiguous records are not reviewed by hand.

Fee due within 90 days marks a patent with a maintenance fee due within 90 days of the date this page was computed and not yet recorded paid, so it can end earlier than the bar shows. A fee left unpaid ends the patent at the close of the six month grace period that follows its due date, not on the due date itself. It is not a prediction that the fee will be missed.

Computed patent terms end on the dates shown. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.

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