Term ends Dec 6, 2028 · High confidence
20-year base term ended May 25, 2025
Held by Zenith Electronics LLC
Filed May 25, 2005 as application 11/137,272 · Granted May 29, 2012
Base term plus 1291 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2005
2028
Clock starts
May 25, 2005
May 25, 2005
Term ends
Dec 6, 2028
Dec 6, 2028
Granted
May 29, 2012
May 29, 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
1,291
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.
9
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 1291 days past its 20-year base term on 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 May 25, 2005, when this application, 11/137,272, was filed | May 25, 2025 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1291 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 6, 2028 | 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 | Dec 6, 2028 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,189,786 | this patent Dec 2028 | Dec 2028 |
| US 7,936,870 | In force Jun 2029 | Jun 2029 |
| US 8,144,868 | In force Aug 2029 | Aug 2029 |
| US 7,929,704 | In force May 2029 | May 2029 |
| US 8,054,974 | In force Jan 2029 | Jan 2029 |
| Application PCT/US2006/019298 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 8,401,189 | Term ended Jun 2025 | Jun 2025 |
| US 8,442,226 | Term ended May 2025 | May 2025 |
8 of 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 2005 Reel 16598, frame 258 | Hauge, Raymond C.; Lewis, Richard | Zenith Electronics Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Apr 28, 2008 Reel 20866, frame 33 | Zenith Electronics Corporation | Zenith Electronics LLC | Conversion |
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
Dec 2028
Term ends Dec 6, 2028. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 1291 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
20
later US patents cite this one
That is above 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.