Term ends no later than Feb 1, 2028 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Sep 27, 2026
In force on USPTO's status record and by its fee record. A terminal disclaimer on file may shorten this term, possibly to a date already past; its reference document is unresolved, so the date above is an upper bound and no earlier date is guessed.
Held by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Filed Sep 27, 2006 as application 11/535,977 · Granted Oct 20, 2009
Base term plus 492 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2028
Clock starts
Sep 27, 2006
Sep 27, 2006
Ends no later than
Feb 1, 2028
Feb 1, 2028
Granted
Oct 20, 2009
Oct 20, 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
492
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
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.
34
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 492 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. 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 Sep 27, 2006, when this application, 11/535,977, was filed | Sep 27, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +492 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Feb 1, 2028 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | Medium 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 | no later than Feb 1, 2028 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,546,420 | In force Aug 2027 | Aug 2027 |
| US 7,676,634 | In force no later than Feb 2028 | no later than Feb 2028 |
| US 7,606,975 | this patent no later than Feb 2028 | no later than Feb 2028 |
| US 7,587,585 | In force Jul 2027 | Jul 2027 |
| US 7,568,088 | In force no later than Aug 2027 | no later than Aug 2027 |
| US 7,568,089 | In force no later than Jul 2027 | no later than Jul 2027 |
| US 7,747,822 | In force May 2028 | May 2028 |
| Application 11/781,949 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
8 of 34 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 28, 2006 Reel 18322, frame 194 | Shar, Leonard Eric; Lawton, Kevin Paul | Montalvo Systems | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 27, 2008 Reel 21731, frame 700 | Montalvo Systems, Inc. | Sun Microsystems, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 23, 2011 Reel 26795, frame 644 | Montalvo Systems, Inc. | Sun Microsystems, Inc.; Sun Microsystems Technology Ltd. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Assignee Previously Recorded on Reel 021731 Frame 0700. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Correct Assignees Are Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Sun Microsystems Technology LTD. |
| Aug 23, 2011 reel/frame not recorded | Montalvo Systems, Inc. | Sun Microsystems, Inc. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Assignee Previously Recorded on Reel 021731 Frame 0700. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Correct Assignees Are Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Sun Microsystems Technology LTD. |
| Aug 23, 2011 reel/frame not recorded | Montalvo Systems, Inc. | Sun Microsystems Technology Ltd. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Assignee Previously Recorded on Reel 021731 Frame 0700. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Correct Assignees Are Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Sun Microsystems Technology LTD. |
| May 28, 2014 Reel 33055, frame 858 | Montalvo Systems, Inc. | Sun Microsystems, Inc.; Sun Microsystems Technology Ltd. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Incorrect Application No. 11/525,977 Previously Recorded at Reel: 026795 Frame: 0644. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Assignment. |
| May 28, 2014 reel/frame not recorded | Montalvo Systems, Inc. | Sun Microsystems, Inc. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Incorrect Application No. 11/525,977 Previously Recorded at Reel: 026795 Frame: 0644. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Assignment. |
| May 28, 2014 reel/frame not recorded | Montalvo Systems, Inc. | Sun Microsystems Technology Ltd. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Incorrect Application No. 11/525,977 Previously Recorded at Reel: 026795 Frame: 0644. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Assignment. |
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.
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Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Feb 2028
Term ends no later than Feb 1, 2028. No further fees fall due before then
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Note
The 492 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Feb 1, 2028. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
21
later US patents cite this one
That is above 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
This computed term ends no later than the date shown; an unresolved terminal disclaimer may end it earlier. 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.