Term ends Sep 5, 2029 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Sep 5, 2029
Filed Sep 5, 2009 as application 12/554,891 · Granted Dec 21, 2010
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2009
2029
Clock starts
Sep 5, 2009
Sep 5, 2009
Term ends
Sep 5, 2029
Sep 5, 2029
Granted
Dec 21, 2010
Dec 21, 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.
33
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 Sep 5, 2009, when this application, 12/554,891, was filed | Sep 5, 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 | Sep 5, 2029 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,176,284 | Lapsed on the fee record May 2024 | May 2024 |
| US 7,856,528 | this patent Sep 2029 | Sep 2029 |
| US 8,176,360 | In force no later than Sep 2029 | no later than Sep 2029 |
| US 7,818,525 | Lapsed on the fee record Oct 2018 | Oct 2018 |
| US 8,189,379 | Lapsed on the fee record May 2020 | May 2020 |
| US 8,775,772 | Lapsed on the fee record Jul 2018 | Jul 2018 |
| US 7,941,696 | Lapsed on the fee record May 2023 | May 2023 |
| US 8,190,842 | Lapsed on the fee record May 2020 | May 2020 |
8 of 33 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 3, 2010 Reel 23890, frame 319 | Frost, Holloway H.; Fuxa, James A.; Camp, Charles J. | Texas Memory Systems, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 26, 2013 Reel 30081, frame 35 | Texas Memory Systems, Inc. | International Business Machines 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
Sep 2029
Term ends Sep 5, 2029. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
104
later US patents cite this one
That is top 10% 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.