Collateral for a security interest recorded Aug 28, 2017 (Top Knobs USA, Inc.).
Term ends Jul 13, 2035 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Jul 13, 2035
Held by Hardware Resources, Inc.
Filed Jun 3, 2016 as application 15/173,285 · Granted Aug 8, 2017
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2015
2035
Clock starts
Jul 13, 2015
Jul 13, 2015
Term ends
Jul 13, 2035
Jul 13, 2035
Granted
Aug 8, 2017
Aug 8, 2017
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.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
2 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.
5
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. 2 of 3 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 Jul 13, 2015, when application 14/797,643, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jun 3, 2016) | Jul 13, 2035 | 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 | None on record | no cap applied | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jul 13, 2035 | High confidence |
This family
| US 9,661,924 | In force Jul 2035 | Jul 2035 |
| US 9,565,936 | In force Jul 2035 | Jul 2035 |
| US 9,723,922 | this patent Jul 2035 | Jul 2035 |
| US 10,028,581 | In force Jul 2035 | Jul 2035 |
| US 10,251,480 | In force Jul 2035 | Jul 2035 |
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 3, 2016 Reel 38804, frame 176 | Chen, Alan | Hardware Resources, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 15, 2016 Reel 40965, frame 364 | Top Knobs USA, Inc.; Hardware Resources, Inc. | Antares Capital LP, as Administrative Agent | First Lien Patent Security Agreement |
| Dec 15, 2016 Reel 40965, frame 687 | Top Knobs USA, Inc.; Hardware Resources, Inc. | Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Administrative Agent | Second Lien Patent Security Agreement |
| Aug 25, 2017 Reel 43676, frame 629 | Hardware Resources, Inc. | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch as Collateral Agent | First Lien Security Agreement |
| Aug 28, 2017 Reel 43687, frame 111 | Hardware Resources, Inc. | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch, as Collateral Agent | Second Lien Security Agreement |
| Aug 28, 2017 Reel 43695, frame 802 | Antares Capital LP | Top Knobs USA, Inc.; Hardware Resources, Inc. | Security Interest |
| Aug 28, 2017 Reel 43696, frame 104 | Wilmington Trust, National Association | Top Knobs USA, Inc.; Hardware Resources, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Aug 28, 2017 reel/frame not recorded | Antares Capital LP | Top Knobs USA, Inc. | Security Interest |
| Aug 28, 2017 reel/frame not recorded | Antares Capital LP | Hardware Resources, Inc. | Security Interest |
| Aug 28, 2017 reel/frame not recorded | Wilmington Trust, National Association | Top Knobs USA, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Aug 28, 2017 reel/frame not recorded | Wilmington Trust, National Association | Hardware Resources, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Dec 28, 2020 Reel 54857, frame 272 | Primesource Building Products, Inc.; Hardware Resources, Inc.; Top Knobs USA, Inc.; Watermark Designs, LLC | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch, as Collateral Agent | First Lien Intellectual Property Security Agreement |
| Dec 28, 2020 Reel 54857, frame 356 | Primesource Building Products, Inc.; Hardware Resources, Inc.; Top Knobs USA, Inc.; Watermark Designs, LLC | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch, as Collateral Agent | Abl Intellectual Property Security Agreement |
| Dec 29, 2020 Reel 54861, frame 189 | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch | Hardware Resources, Inc.; Top Knobs USA, Inc. | Release of Security Interests (Second Lien) |
| Dec 29, 2020 Reel 54874, frame 222 | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch | Hardware Resources, Inc.; Top Knobs USA, Inc. | Release of Security Interests (First Lien) |
| Dec 29, 2020 reel/frame not recorded | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch | Hardware Resources, Inc. | Release of Security Interests (Second Lien) |
| Dec 29, 2020 reel/frame not recorded | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch | Top Knobs USA, Inc. | Release of Security Interests (Second Lien) |
| Dec 29, 2020 reel/frame not recorded | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch | Hardware Resources, Inc. | Release of Security Interests (First Lien) |
| Dec 29, 2020 reel/frame not recorded | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch | Top Knobs USA, Inc. | Release of Security Interests (First Lien) |
| Jan 8, 2021 Reel 54940, frame 444 | Antares Capital LP | Top Knobs USA, Inc.; Hardware Resources, Inc. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Nature of the Conveyance from Security Interest to Release of First Lien Patent Security Agreement Previously Recorded on Reel 043695 Frame 0802. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Release of Security Interest. |
| Jan 8, 2021 reel/frame not recorded | Antares Capital LP | Top Knobs USA, Inc. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Nature of the Conveyance from Security Interest to Release of First Lien Patent Security Agreement Previously Recorded on Reel 043695 Frame 0802. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Release of Security Interest. |
| Jan 8, 2021 reel/frame not recorded | Antares Capital LP | Hardware Resources, Inc. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Nature of the Conveyance from Security Interest to Release of First Lien Patent Security Agreement Previously Recorded on Reel 043695 Frame 0802. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Release of Security Interest. |
| Oct 3, 2025 Reel 72996, frame 843 | Primesource Building Products, Inc.; Watermark Designs, LLC; Hardware Resources, Inc.; Top Knobs USA, Inc.; Nationwide Industries, LLC; WSB Hardware, Inc. | Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Notes Collateral Agent | First Lien Intellectual Property Security Agreement |
| Oct 23, 2025 Reel 73191, frame 683 | Primesource Building Products, Inc.; Watermark Designs, LLC; Hardware Resources, Inc.; Top Knobs USA, Inc.; Nationwide Industries, LLC; WSB Hardware, Inc. | Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Notes Collateral Agent | Second Lien Intellectual Property Security Agreement |
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
Jul 2035
Term ends Jul 13, 2035. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Citations
17
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% of utility patents granted in 2017 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.