Term ends Aug 23, 2038 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Oct 20, 2036
Held by NGK Insulators, Ltd.
Filed Oct 20, 2016 as application 15/298,660 · Granted Apr 21, 2020
Base term plus 672 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2016
2038
Clock starts
Oct 20, 2016
Oct 20, 2016
Term ends
Aug 23, 2038
Aug 23, 2038
Granted
Apr 21, 2020
Apr 21, 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
672
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.
14
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 672 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 Oct 20, 2016, when this application, 15/298,660, was filed | Oct 20, 2036 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +672 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Aug 23, 2038 | 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 | Aug 23, 2038 | High confidence |
This family
| US 9,872,016 | In force Jul 2033 | Jul 2033 |
| US 9,869,999 | In force Oct 2036 | Oct 2036 |
| US 10,631,370 | this patent Aug 2038 | Aug 2038 |
| US 10,154,279 | In force Oct 2032 | Oct 2032 |
| US 10,180,329 | In force Oct 2036 | Oct 2036 |
| US 10,197,999 | In force no later than Oct 2032 | no later than Oct 2032 |
| US 10,331,126 | In force no later than Oct 2032 | no later than Oct 2032 |
| US 10,477,234 | In force Oct 2032 | Oct 2032 |
8 of 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 20, 2016 Reel 40679, frame 211 | Nagai, Asumi; Nishimura, Noboru; Katsuda, Yuji | NGK Insulators, Ltd. | 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
Aug 2038
Term ends Aug 23, 2038. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Note
The 672 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
6
later US patents cite this one
That is above 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.