Term ends no later than Oct 22, 2028 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Oct 22, 2028
In force on USPTO's status record and by its fee record. A terminal disclaimer on file may shorten this term, possibly to a date already past; its reference document is unresolved, so the date above is an upper bound and no earlier date is guessed.
Held by WestRock Shared Services, LLC
Filed May 14, 2010 as application 12/780,509 · Granted Sep 9, 2014
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2008
2028
Clock starts
Oct 22, 2008
Oct 22, 2008
Ends no later than
Oct 22, 2028
Oct 22, 2028
Granted
Sep 9, 2014
Sep 9, 2014
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.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
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.
21
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 on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. 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 Oct 22, 2008, when application 12/256,051, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed May 14, 2010) | Oct 22, 2028 | 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 on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | 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 | no later than Oct 22, 2028 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 8,820,618 | In force Oct 2028 | Oct 2028 |
| US 8,105,223 | In force Jan 2030 | Jan 2030 |
| US 8,579,778 | In force Dec 2031 | Dec 2031 |
| US 8,827,142 | this patent no later than Oct 2028 | no later than Oct 2028 |
| US 8,887,982 | In force no later than Jan 2030 | no later than Jan 2030 |
| US 9,815,586 | In force May 2032 | May 2032 |
| US 9,764,526 | In force Dec 2031 | Dec 2031 |
| US 9,764,524 | In force Jun 2030 | Jun 2030 |
8 of 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 2010 Reel 24603, frame 649 | Smith, Kenneth Charles | Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 12, 2011 Reel 26271, frame 410 | Smith, Kenneth Charles | Smurfit-Stone Container Enterprises, Inc. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Name of the Assignee Previously Recorded on Reel 024603 Frame 0649. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Assignment of Assignor's Interest.. |
| Sep 10, 2013 Reel 31170, frame 405 | Smurfit-Stone Container Enterprises, Inc. | Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation | Merger |
| Sep 17, 2013 Reel 31218, frame 937 | Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation | Rocktenn CP, LLC | Merger |
| Sep 20, 2013 Reel 31247, frame 991 | Rocktenn CP, LLC | Rock-Tenn Shared Services, LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 6, 2015 Reel 37057, frame 404 | Rock-Tenn Shared Services, LLC | WestRock Shared Services, LLC | Change of Name |
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
Oct 2028
Term ends no later than Oct 22, 2028. No further fees fall due before then
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Oct 22, 2028. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
94
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% of utility patents granted in 2014 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
This computed term ends no later than the date shown; an unresolved terminal disclaimer may end it earlier. 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.