Term ends Nov 22, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Nov 22, 2026
Filed Dec 21, 2010 as application 12/974,750 · Granted Nov 1, 2011
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Nov 22, 2006
Nov 22, 2006
Term ends
Nov 22, 2026
Nov 22, 2026
Granted
Nov 1, 2011
Nov 1, 2011
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.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,881,225, to Nov 22, 2026. 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.
3
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. 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.
| Step | Input | Date after this step | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base term, 20 years from filing | Clock starts Nov 22, 2006, when application 11/603,761, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Dec 21, 2010) | Nov 22, 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 | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 7,881,225) | resolves to Nov 22, 2026, no earlier than this term, so no change | 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 | Nov 22, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,881,225 | In force Mar 2029 | Mar 2029 |
| US 8,050,194 | this patent Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 8,726,306 | In force Jan 2027 | Jan 2027 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16, 2011 Reel 26919, frame 927 | Siripunkaw, Pak; Weber, Emery | Comcast Cable Holdings, LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 7, 2015 Reel 37229, frame 550 | Comcast Cable Holdings, LLC; Comcast Cable Communications, LLC | Comcast Cable Communications, LLC | Merger and Change of Name |
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
Nov 2026
Term ends Nov 22, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,881,225, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
10
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median 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.