Term ends Jan 21, 2028 · High confidence
Held by Mars, Incorporated
Filed Aug 10, 2012 as application 29/429,393 · Granted Jan 21, 2014
Base term, 14 years from grant
Today
2014
2028
Clock starts
Jan 21, 2014
Jan 21, 2014
Term ends
Jan 21, 2028
Jan 21, 2028
base term
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.
14 years from grant
Base term
No maintenance fees are payable on this kind of patent.
8
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 base term, 14 years from grant, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. No maintenance fees are payable on this kind of patent. 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, 14 years from grant | Granted Jan 21, 2014 | Jan 21, 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 | None on record | no cap applied | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jan 21, 2028 | High confidence |
This family
| US D606,278 | Term ended Dec 2023 | Dec 2023 |
| US D622,028 | Term ended Aug 2024 | Aug 2024 |
| US D650,147 | Term ended Dec 2025 | Dec 2025 |
| US D687,207 | In force Aug 2027 | Aug 2027 |
| US D697,692 | In force Jan 2028 | Jan 2028 |
| US D697,691 | In force Jan 2028 | Jan 2028 |
| US D697,686 | In force Jan 2028 | Jan 2028 |
| US D697,687 | this patent Jan 2028 | Jan 2028 |
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 31, 2013 Reel 31518, frame 487 | Kerr, George Scott; Sunvold, Gregory Dean; Schumacher, Lawrence Andrew; Schuller, David William; Ter Haar, Robbert H.; Kohlman, Gary J. | The Iams Company | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 2, 2015 Reel 37197, frame 153 | The Iams Company | Mars, Incorporated | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
Sources
Google Patents · The patent document at USPTO · Assignment records at USPTO
USPTO account required: This application in Patent Center
No maintenance fees are payable on this kind of patent, so the record carries no fee events.
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Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Jan 2028
Term ends Jan 21, 2028. No maintenance fees are payable on this kind of patent
Citations
32
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% of design 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
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.