Also listed on Schering Corporation, an earlier holder on the record. The recorded assignments below show how it moved.
Term ends Dec 5, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Dec 5, 2026
Held by Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
Filed May 29, 2008 as application 12/085,745 · Granted Jul 16, 2013
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Dec 5, 2006
Dec 5, 2006
Term ends
Dec 5, 2026
Dec 5, 2026
Granted
Jul 16, 2013
Jul 16, 2013
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 7,652,049, to Dec 5, 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.
2
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 Dec 5, 2006, when application PCT/US2006/046503, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed May 29, 2008) | Dec 5, 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 7,652,049) | resolves to Dec 5, 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 | Dec 5, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| Application PCT/US2006/046503 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 8,486,983 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 20, 2008 Reel 21704, frame 103 | Sheth, Agam R.; Rege, Bhagwant; Ghosh, Soumojeet; Alani, Laman L.; Cruanes, Maria T.; McKelvey, Craig A. | Merck & Co., Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 26, 2010 Reel 23845, frame 940 | Merck & Co., Inc. | Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. | Change of Name |
| Aug 27, 2012 Reel 28850, frame 515 | Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. | Schering Corporation | Merger |
| Aug 29, 2012 Reel 28866, frame 511 | Schering Corporation | Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. | Change of Name |
| Aug 8, 2022 Reel 61102, frame 145 | Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. | Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC | 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.
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Dec 2026
Term ends Dec 5, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,652,049, 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 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.