From what I can gather (whether it is still applicable and helps...

From what I can gather (whether it is still applicable and helps shareholders I don't know), they were provided a patent, which should be still valid assuming they paid their upkeep fees? -

United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 7,910,080 B2
Megy (45) Date of Patent: *Mar. 22, 2011

as per announcement with Stonecutter, and may be updating to extend patent as per info below?? :

https://novaphos.com/news-07102017

JDC expects to complete the plant modifications by early 2018. Independent engineering studies will be conducted ahead of commercial deployment of IHP.

The company has been granted a U.S. patent covering its proprietary induration process, a core component of the IHP technology. JDC will continue to expand its base of intellectual property as it makes further technology improvements.

https://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=7,910,080.PN.&OS=PN/7,910,080&RS=PN/7,910,080

Can patents be renewed?

U.S. patents issue for fixed terms and generally cannot be renewed.

• A U.S. utility patent has a term of 20 years from its earliest effective, non-provisional U.S. filing date. The term may be extended by the USPTO for Patent Office delays in examining the application, and for certain delays in the FDA regulatory process. Conversely, the term can also be shortened if the applicant uses certain disclaimers during prosecution.
• Maintenance fees must be paid at 3 ½, 7 ½, and 11 ½ years after issuance of a utility patent, or the patent will expire at 4, 8, or 12 years.
• A U.S. design patent has a term of 15 years from issuance.
• A U.S. plant patent has a term of 20 years from issuance.

Without a change in the law, a patent cannot be extended beyond the term for which it issued. The only way to extend protection is to invent and patent an improvement to the originally patented invention. A new patent will only protect the improvement, however, and not the original invention, which others will be free to copy and use when the original patent expires.