Term ends Jan 6, 2029 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Jan 6, 2029
Filed Jan 6, 2009 as application 12/318,673 · Granted Jan 12, 2010
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2009
2029
Clock starts
Jan 6, 2009
Jan 6, 2009
Term ends
Jan 6, 2029
Jan 6, 2029
Granted
Jan 12, 2010
Jan 12, 2010
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
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.
22
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 is its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for 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 Jan 6, 2009, when this application, 12/318,673, was filed | Jan 6, 2029 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | None on file | no change | 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 | Jan 6, 2029 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,589,042 | Term ended no later than Aug 2026 | no later than Aug 2026 |
| US 7,645,715 | In force Apr 2027 | Apr 2027 |
| US 7,645,844 | this patent Jan 2029 | Jan 2029 |
| US 8,742,043 | Lapsed on the fee record Jun 2026 | Jun 2026 |
| US 7,833,926 | Term ended Nov 2025 | Nov 2025 |
| US 8,067,511 | In force Nov 2029 | Nov 2029 |
| US 7,928,173 | In force Sep 2029 | Sep 2029 |
| US 8,334,354 | In force Feb 2031 | Feb 2031 |
8 of 22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2009 Reel 22898, frame 980 | Shin, Dong-cheol; Lee, Ho-seong; Ok, Myung-ahn; Hahn, Jong-sok | SK Energy Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Sep 20, 2011 Reel 26932, frame 203 | SK Energy Co., Ltd. | SK Innovation Co., Ltd. | Change of Name |
| Sep 23, 2015 Reel 36635, frame 906 | SK Innovation Co., Ltd. | SABIC SK Nexlene Company Pte. 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.
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Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Jan 2029
Term ends Jan 6, 2029. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
0
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2010 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.