The Patent Finder
US

Techniques for Reducing Overhead in a Communications System

US 9,999,043 Term ended
OverviewFamilySources & methods

Term ended Oct 5, 2023 · Medium confidence

Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.

USPTO later recorded it as expired for non-payment on Jul 20, 2026.

Filed Nov 12, 2012 as application 13/674,457 · Granted Jun 12, 2018
Base term plus 256 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
20 years from filing
Term ended Oct 5, 2023
2003 2026
Clock starts
Jan 22, 2003
Term ended
Oct 5, 2023
Granted
Jun 12, 2018
base term patent term adjustment after the term ends 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
256
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
1 of 1
Maintenance fees paid
One maintenance fee can end this term early, the one due 3.5 years from grant; the next one's grace period runs past the term end. This counts it if the record shows it paid.
3
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 256 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 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.
StepInputDate after this stepConfidence
Base term, 20 years from filingClock starts Jan 22, 2003, when application 10/350,309, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Nov 12, 2012); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row)Jan 22, 2023High confidence
Continuity chainA parent in the chain could not be resolveddated from this application's own claimMedium confidence
Patent term adjustment+256 days, USPTO patent term adjustment recordOct 5, 2023High confidence
Terminal disclaimer capNone on recordno cap appliedHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events1 of 1 maintenance fees paidterm endedHigh confidence
USPTO status recordRecorded as expired for non-payment on Jul 20, 2026, after the term endedno changeHigh confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderOct 5, 2023Medium confidence

This family

US 8,320,298In force
Jul 2027
Jul 2027
US 9,999,043this patent
Oct 2023
Oct 2023
US 10,708,909Term ended
Sep 2023
Sep 2023
The applications whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.

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.

The Patent Finder CompaniesExpirationsCalculatorWatchlistPricing MethodologyCorrectionsLegalPrivacysupport@thepatentfinder.com Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) Part of 137 Finder · © 2026 137 Finder LLC · Sources cited