Term ends Oct 19, 2031 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Oct 19, 2031
Held by Mars, Incorporated
Filed Jul 12, 2016 as application 15/207,902 · Granted Oct 16, 2018
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2011
2031
Clock starts
Oct 19, 2011
Oct 19, 2011
Term ends
Oct 19, 2031
Oct 19, 2031
Granted
Oct 16, 2018
Oct 16, 2018
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.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 9,200,011, US 9,233,985, to Oct 19, 2031. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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.
5
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 resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. 2 of 3 maintenance fees are paid so far. Confidence: High. 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 Oct 19, 2011, when application 13/276,806, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jul 12, 2016) | Oct 19, 2031 | 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 resolved from the filed document (refs US 9,200,011, US 9,233,985) | resolves to Oct 19, 2031, no earlier than this term, so no change | High 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 | Oct 19, 2031 | High confidence |
This family
| US 9,233,985 | In force Jun 2033 | Jun 2033 |
| US 9,440,995 | In force no later than Oct 2031 | no later than Oct 2031 |
| US 10,098,902 | this patent Oct 2031 | Oct 2031 |
| US 10,603,330 | Lapsed on the fee record Mar 2024 | Mar 2024 |
| US 11,389,464 | In force Oct 2031 | Oct 2031 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 2016 Reel 39180, frame 510 | Van Zandt, Michael; Jagdmann, Gunnar Erik | Mars, Incorporated | 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
Oct 2031
Term ends Oct 19, 2031. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 9,200,011, US 9,233,985, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
7
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median of utility patents granted in 2018 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.