Term ends Oct 19, 2031 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Oct 19, 2031
Why Medium: The disclaimer's references carry disclaimers of their own not yet read (US 9,440,995), so the cap could be lower.
Held by Mars, Incorporated
Filed Feb 19, 2020 as application 16/794,905 · Granted Jul 19, 2022
Base term plus 123 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) · capped by a resolved terminal disclaimer
Today
2011
2031
Clock starts
Oct 19, 2011
Oct 19, 2011
Term ends
Oct 19, 2031
Oct 19, 2031
Granted
Jul 19, 2022
Jul 19, 2022
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
123
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
Capped
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 10,098,902, US 10,603,330, US 9,233,985, US 9,440,995.
1 of 2
Maintenance fees paid
Two maintenance fees can end this term early, the ones due 3.5 and 7.5 years from grant; the third one's grace period runs past the term end. 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 runs 123 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document caps it earlier. 1 of 2 maintenance fees is paid so far. Confidence: Medium. 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 Feb 19, 2020) | Oct 19, 2031 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +123 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Feb 19, 2032 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 10,098,902, US 10,603,330, US 9,233,985, US 9,440,995) | capped to Oct 19, 2031 | Medium confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 1 of 2 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Oct 19, 2031 | Medium 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 | In force Oct 2031 | Oct 2031 |
| US 10,603,330 | Lapsed on the fee record Mar 2024 | Mar 2024 |
| US 11,389,464 | this patent 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24, 2020 Reel 52002, frame 57 | Van Zandt, Michael; Jagdmann, Gunnar Erik, JR | 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
Note
The 123 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Disclaimer cap
This term is capped by a terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 10,098,902, US 10,603,330, US 9,233,985, US 9,440,995.
Citations
3
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median of utility patents granted in 2022 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.