Also listed on Paramed Corporation, an earlier holder on the record. The recorded assignments below show how it moved.
Term ends Dec 28, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Dec 28, 2026
Held by Stryker Corporation
Filed Jul 10, 2008 as application 12/170,632 · Granted Apr 20, 2010
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Dec 28, 2006
Dec 28, 2006
Term ends
Dec 28, 2026
Dec 28, 2026
Granted
Apr 20, 2010
Apr 20, 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.
4
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 Dec 28, 2006, when application 11/617,061, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jul 10, 2008) | Dec 28, 2026 | 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 | Dec 28, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,422,220 | In force May 2027 | May 2027 |
| Application PCT/US2007/070537 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 7,699,324 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| Application 12/533,911 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
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 10, 2008 Reel 21219, frame 837 | Ostrowski, Steven B.; Strategix, LLC | Descent Control Systems, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jul 10, 2008 Reel 21219, frame 859 | Walkingshaw, Nathan R. | Descent Controly Systems, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 27, 2009 Reel 22732, frame 625 | Descent Control Systems, Inc. | Paramed Corporation | Change of Name |
| Sep 14, 2009 Reel 23220, frame 227 | Descent Control Systems, Inc. | Paramed Corporation | Change of Name |
| Oct 20, 2009 Reel 23390, frame 596 | Paramed Corporation | Stryker Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 18, 2024 Reel 69737, frame 184 | Stryker Corporation | Stryker Corporation | Change of Address |
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
Dec 2026
Term ends Dec 28, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
16
later US patents cite this one
That is above 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.