Also listed on Schering Corporation, an earlier holder on the record. The recorded assignments below show how it moved.
Term ends Nov 29, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Dec 13, 2022
Held by Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
Filed May 26, 2004 as application 10/497,122 · Granted Aug 4, 2009
Base term plus 1447 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2002
2026
Clock starts
Dec 13, 2002
Dec 13, 2002
Term ends
Nov 29, 2026
Nov 29, 2026
Granted
Aug 4, 2009
Aug 4, 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
1,447
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.
2
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 1447 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 Dec 13, 2002, when application PCT/US2002/040147, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed May 26, 2004) | Dec 13, 2022 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1447 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Nov 29, 2026 | 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 | Nov 29, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| Application PCT/US2002/040147 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 7,569,592 | this patent Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2009 Reel 22857, frame 839 | Cosford, Nicholas D.p.; Chen, Chixu; Eastman, Brian W.; Huang, Dehua; Munoz, Benito; Prasit, Petpiboon; Smith, Nicholas D. | Merck & Co., Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 29, 2010 Reel 23870, frame 1 | Merck & Co., Inc. | Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. | Change of Name |
| Aug 27, 2012 Reel 28850, frame 515 | Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. | Schering Corporation | Merger |
| Aug 29, 2012 Reel 28866, frame 511 | Schering Corporation | Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. | Change of Name |
| Aug 8, 2022 Reel 61102, frame 145 | Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. | Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC | Merger |
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
Nov 2026
Term ends Nov 29, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 1447 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
10
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.