Term ends Mar 2, 2027 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Oct 23, 2026
Filed Oct 23, 2006 as application 11/584,990 · Granted Jul 7, 2009
Base term plus 130 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2027
Clock starts
Oct 23, 2006
Oct 23, 2006
Term ends
Mar 2, 2027
Mar 2, 2027
Granted
Jul 7, 2009
Jul 7, 2009
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
130
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
3 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 runs 130 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. 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 23, 2006, when this application, 11/584,990, was filed | Oct 23, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +130 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Mar 2, 2027 | 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 | 3 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Mar 2, 2027 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,557,046 | this patent Mar 2027 | Mar 2027 |
| US 7,667,242 | In force Jun 2028 | Jun 2028 |
| US 8,110,880 | In force Oct 2027 | Oct 2027 |
| US 8,110,494 | In force Oct 2027 | Oct 2027 |
| US 8,723,891 | In force Sep 2030 | Sep 2030 |
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 1, 2006 Reel 18572, frame 242 | Veliadis, John V. | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 7, 2011 Reel 25597, frame 505 | Northrop Grumman Corporation | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | 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
Mar 2027
Term ends Mar 2, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 130 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
2
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2009 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.