The Patent Finder
US

Method and Apparatus for Dropping a Pump Down Plug or Ball

US 7,918,278 In force
OverviewFamilyAssignmentsSources & methods
Collateral for a security interest recorded Oct 17, 2014 (General Electric Capital Corporation).

Term ends Aug 25, 2027 · High confidence

Filed Jan 6, 2009 as application 12/349,109 · Granted Apr 5, 2011
Base term plus 101 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
20 years from filing
2007 2027
Clock starts
May 16, 2007
Term ends
Aug 25, 2027
Granted
Apr 5, 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
101
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,607,481, US 7,841,410, to Aug 25, 2027. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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.
18
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 101 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. 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.
StepInputDate after this stepConfidence
Base term, 20 years from filingClock starts May 16, 2007, when application 11/749,591, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jan 6, 2009)May 16, 2027High confidence
Continuity chainEvery parent in the chain resolvedno changeHigh confidence
Patent term adjustment+101 days, USPTO patent term adjustment recordAug 25, 2027High confidence
Terminal disclaimer capDisclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 7,607,481, US 7,841,410)resolves to Aug 25, 2027, no earlier than this term, so no changeHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events3 of 3 maintenance fees paidIn forceHigh confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderAug 25, 2027High confidence

This family

US 7,607,481In force
Feb 2028
Feb 2028
US 7,841,410In force
Feb 2028
Feb 2028
Application PCT/US2008/063751PCT application
no patent term
no patent term
US 7,918,278this patent
Aug 2027
Aug 2027
US 8,215,396In force
May 2027
May 2027
US 8,651,174In force
Jun 2028
Jun 2028
Application PCT/US2011/036659PCT application
no patent term
no patent term
US 8,573,301In force
May 2027
May 2027
8 of 18 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.
RecordedAssignorAssigneeConveyance
Feb 28, 2011
Reel 25870, frame 494
Barbee, PhilGulfstream Services, Inc.Assignment of Assignor's Interest
Oct 17, 2014
Reel 34013, frame 444
Gulfstream Services, Inc.General Electric Capital Corporation, as Collateral AgentPatent Security Agreement
Aug 24, 2015
Reel 36435, frame 614
General Electric Capital Corporation, as the Current and Resigning Administrative AgentAntares Capital LP, as Successor Administrative AgentAssignment of Intellectual Property Security Agreements
Jun 28, 2018
Reel 46459, frame 743
Antares Capital LP, as Transferring Administrative AgentResolute III Debtco LLC, as Successor Administrative AgentAssignment of Intellectual Property Security Agreements
Aug 17, 2018
Reel 46860, frame 353
Resolute III Debtco LLC, as Administrative AgentGulfstream Services, Inc.Release of Security 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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