Collateral for a security interest recorded Nov 4, 2024 (Wilmington Trust, National Association).
Term ends May 28, 2028 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Feb 3, 2026
Held by Level 3 Communications, LLC
Filed Oct 31, 2007 as application 11/933,020 · Granted Aug 23, 2016
Base term plus 1055 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) · capped by a resolved terminal disclaimer
Today
2006
2028
Clock starts
Feb 3, 2006
Feb 3, 2006
Term ends
May 28, 2028
May 28, 2028
Granted
Aug 23, 2016
Aug 23, 2016
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
1,055
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
Capped
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,259,713, US 8,526,446.
2 of 2
Maintenance fees paid
Two maintenance fees can end this term early, the ones due 3.5 and 7.5 years from grant; the third one's grace period runs past the term end. 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 runs 1055 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document caps it earlier. 2 of 2 maintenance fees are paid so far. 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 Feb 3, 2006, when application 11/347,810, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Oct 31, 2007) | Feb 3, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1055 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 24, 2028 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 8,259,713, US 8,526,446) | capped to May 28, 2028 | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 2 of 2 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | May 28, 2028 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,526,446 | In force Apr 2029 | Apr 2029 |
| US 8,064,467 | In force May 2028 | May 2028 |
| Application PCT/US2007/061629 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 9,426,092 | this patent May 2028 | May 2028 |
| Application PCT/US2007/085977 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 8,259,713 | In force May 2028 | May 2028 |
| US 8,995,451 | Term ended Sep 2026 | Sep 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2008 Reel 20799, frame 90 | Lawrence, Joseph; Gibbings, Christopher J.; Comstedt, Niclas; El-aawar, Nassar | Level 3 Communications, LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 4, 2024 Reel 69295, frame 749 | Level 3 Communications, LLC; Global Crossing Telecommunications, Inc. | Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Collateral Agent | Notice of Grant of Security Interest in Intellectual Property (Second Lien) |
| Nov 4, 2024 Reel 69295, frame 858 | Level 3 Communications, LLC; Global Crossing Telecommunications, Inc. | Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Collateral Agent | Notice of Grant of Security Interest in Intellectual Property (First Lien) |
| Jun 12, 2026 Reel 75738, frame 427 | Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Retiring Collateral Agent | U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as Successor Collateral Agent | Assignment of First Lien Security Interest in Patent Collateral Recorded at R/F 069295/0858 |
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
May 2028
Term ends May 28, 2028. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 1055 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Disclaimer cap
This term is capped by a terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,259,713, US 8,526,446.
Citations
140
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% of utility patents granted in 2016 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.