Term ends Sep 21, 2036 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Aug 31, 2036
Held by Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Filed Aug 31, 2016 as application 15/252,481 · Granted Jan 28, 2020
Base term plus 21 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2016
2036
Clock starts
Aug 31, 2016
Aug 31, 2016
Term ends
Sep 21, 2036
Sep 21, 2036
Granted
Jan 28, 2020
Jan 28, 2020
base term
patent term adjustment
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
21
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
1 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.
13
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 runs 21 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 1 of 3 maintenance fees is 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 Aug 31, 2016, when this application, 15/252,481, was filed | Aug 31, 2036 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +21 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Sep 21, 2036 | 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 | 1 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Sep 21, 2036 | High confidence |
This family
| US 9,834,827 | In force (reinstated) Oct 2033 | Oct 2033 |
| US 9,431,672 | Lapsed on the fee record Aug 2024 | Aug 2024 |
| US 10,547,044 | this patent Sep 2036 | Sep 2036 |
| US 10,522,884 | In force Jan 2034 | Jan 2034 |
| US 11,127,992 | In force Oct 2033 | Oct 2033 |
| US 11,955,613 | In force Oct 2033 | Oct 2033 |
| US 11,502,345 | In force Apr 2033 | Apr 2033 |
| US 12,074,302 | In force Aug 2033 | Aug 2033 |
8 of 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 21, 2016 Reel 39812, frame 675 | Pan, Heng; Ludwig, Brandon | The Curators of the University of Missouri | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Sep 21, 2016 Reel 39812, frame 338 | Wang, Yan; Zheng, Zhangfeng | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 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.
What's changing
Sep 2036
Term ends Sep 21, 2036. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Note
The 21 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
1
later US patent cites this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2020 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.