Term ends Nov 12, 2029 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Nov 12, 2029
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Held by Mars, Incorporated
Filed Nov 9, 2010 as application 12/942,234 · Granted Dec 11, 2012
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2009
2029
Clock starts
Nov 12, 2009
Nov 12, 2009
Term ends
Nov 12, 2029
Nov 12, 2029
Granted
Dec 11, 2012
Dec 11, 2012
base term
fee events
Updated Nov 15, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 15, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
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.
7
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. 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 12, 2009, when application 12/617,535, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Nov 9, 2010); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Nov 12, 2029 | 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 | None on file | no change | 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 | Nov 12, 2029 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 8,300,993 | In force Nov 2029 | Nov 2029 |
| US 8,331,751 | this patent Nov 2029 | Nov 2029 |
| US 8,586,347 | In force Nov 2029 | Nov 2029 |
| US 8,606,066 | Lapsed on the fee record Dec 2025 | Dec 2025 |
| US 9,212,995 | In force Nov 2029 | Nov 2029 |
| US 9,658,222 | In force Nov 2029 | Nov 2029 |
6 of 7 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 16, 2020 Reel 52423, frame 54 | Delaney, Marie J.; Moll, Kevin D. | Precision Photonics Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Apr 16, 2020 Reel 52423, frame 89 | Precision Photonics Corporation | Mbio Diagnostics, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 2, 2021 Reel 55111, frame 89 | Mbio Diagnostics, Inc. Dba Lightdeck Diagnostics | Heska Corporation | Security Interest |
| May 19, 2025 Reel 71338, frame 783 | Antech Diagnostics, Inc. | Mars, Incorporated | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 19, 2025 Reel 71338, frame 695 | Mbio Diagnostics, Inc. | Heska Corporation | Merger |
| May 19, 2025 Reel 71338, frame 716 | Heska Corporation | Antech Diagnostics, Inc. | Merger |
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 2029
Term ends Nov 12, 2029. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
60
later US patents cite this one
That is top 10% 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.