Term ends Aug 15, 2030 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Mar 20, 2026
Held by GE Global Sourcing LLC
Filed Dec 7, 2006 as application 11/608,066 · Granted Feb 5, 2013
Base term plus 1609 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2030
Clock starts
Mar 20, 2006
Mar 20, 2006
Term ends
Aug 15, 2030
Aug 15, 2030
Granted
Feb 5, 2013
Feb 5, 2013
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
1,609
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.
115
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 1609 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 Mar 20, 2006, when application 11/385,354, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Dec 7, 2006) | Mar 20, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1609 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Aug 15, 2030 | 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 | Aug 15, 2030 | High confidence |
This family
| Application 10/361,968 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 8,538,611 | Term ended May 2024 | May 2024 |
| US 7,965,312 | In force Dec 2027 | Dec 2027 |
| US 9,733,625 | Term ended Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| US 8,280,566 | In force Oct 2029 | Oct 2029 |
| US 8,370,006 | this patent Aug 2030 | Aug 2030 |
| Application 11/608,257 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 8,768,543 | Lapsed on the fee record Jul 2026 | Jul 2026 |
8 of 115 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 28, 2007 Reel 18941, frame 1 | Kumar, Ajith K; Daum, Wolfganag; Otsubo, Tom; Hershey, John Erik; Hess, Gerald J | General Electric Company | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 25, 2008 Reel 21886, frame 901 | GE Global Research | U.S. Department of Energy | Confirmatory License |
| Dec 6, 2018 Reel 47736, frame 178 | General Electric Company | GE Global Sourcing LLC | 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
Aug 2030
Term ends Aug 15, 2030. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 1609 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
116
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% of utility patents granted in 2013 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.