Term ends Oct 2, 2027 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Sep 27, 2026
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Held by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Filed Oct 24, 2007 as application 11/923,640 · Granted Jan 11, 2011
Base term plus 370 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2027
Clock starts
Sep 27, 2006
Sep 27, 2006
Term ends
Oct 2, 2027
Oct 2, 2027
Granted
Jan 11, 2011
Jan 11, 2011
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
370
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.
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 370 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 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 applications 11/535,971, 11/535,972 and 11/535,977, the earliest non-provisional applications in its chain, were filed (this one was filed Oct 24, 2007); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Sep 27, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | A parent in the chain could not be resolved | dated from this application's own claim | Medium confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +370 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Oct 2, 2027 | 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 | Oct 2, 2027 | 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 | In force 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 2008 Reel 20779, frame 708 | Nelson, Christopher Patrick; Favor, John Gregory; Thaik, Richard Win | Montalvo Systems, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 16, 2008 Reel 20957, frame 434 | Montalvo Systems, Inc. | Sun Microsystems, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 23, 2011 Reel 26794, frame 962 | Montalvo Systems, Inc. | Sun Microsystems, Inc.; Sun Microsystems Technology Ltd. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Assignee Previously Recorded on Reel 020957 Frame 0434. 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 020957 Frame 0434. 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 020957 Frame 0434. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Correct Assignees Are Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Sun Microsystems Technology LTD. |
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
Oct 2027
Term ends Oct 2, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 370 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
73
later US patents cite this one
That is top 10% of utility patents granted in 2011 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.