Term ends May 11, 2027 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Nov 10, 2025
Why Medium: The disclaimer's references carry disclaimers of their own not yet read (US 7,715,877), so the cap could be lower.
Held by Hera Wireless S.A.
Filed Nov 26, 2008 as application 12/324,163 · Granted Feb 21, 2012
Base term plus 547 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2005
2027
Clock starts
Nov 10, 2005
Nov 10, 2005
Term ends
May 11, 2027
May 11, 2027
Granted
Feb 21, 2012
Feb 21, 2012
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
547
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 7,715,877, to May 11, 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.
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 runs 547 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: 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 Nov 10, 2005, when application 11/270,829, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Nov 26, 2008) | Nov 10, 2025 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +547 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | May 11, 2027 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 7,715,877) | resolves to May 11, 2027, no earlier than this term, so no change | Medium 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 | May 11, 2027 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,715,876 | In force Sep 2027 | Sep 2027 |
| US 8,121,647 | this patent May 2027 | May 2027 |
| US 9,331,813 | In force May 2027 | May 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2012 Reel 27619, frame 24 | Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. | Hera Wireless S.A. | 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
May 2027
Term ends May 11, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 547 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,715,877, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
3
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2012 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.