1,253 patents currently held
2 more in force are now held by other companies
Held is read from USPTO's recorded assignments; a transfer never recorded there does not appear.
The next term ends in Nov 2026. from the record
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
88
Ending by 2030
Nov 2026
Next term end
1,090
Patent families
When these terms end
Held patents by the year their term ends
notable patents
fee due within 90 days
all others
Updated Nov 15, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 15, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
Notable: the highest-ranked patents in this portfolio by citations and family size. Fee due within 90 days: a maintenance fee is due within 90 days of when this page was computed and not yet paid.
Notable patents
Ranked by citations and family size, against patents of the same kind granted the same year. How we rank
Notable
Ends Jun 2027 · High confidence
Also notable
Ends Sep 2035 · Medium confidence
Also notable
Ends Dec 2032 · High confidence
Flash Memory Storage System
US 7,640,390
Cited by 126 later US patents, top 5% of utility patents granted in 2009 in our data, and renewed at 3 of 3 maintenance windows. Protection runs to 2027.
Distributed Storage System
US 10,185,624
Cited by 35 later US patents, top 10% of utility patents granted in 2019 in our data, and renewed at 2 of 3 maintenance windows. Protection runs to 2035.
Storage Apparatus and Storage Apparatus Migration Method
US 9,152,337
Cited by 45 later US patents, top 10% of utility patents granted in 2015 in our data, and renewed at every maintenance window due so far. Protection runs to 2032. A terminal disclaimer caps this term to an earlier patent's.
Fee deadlines
Maintenance fees fall due 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years after grant. A missed fee ends a patent at the end of the six month grace period that follows, not on the due date.
- 9 fees due Nov 19 to 30, 2026 · next Nov 19
- 22 fees due Dec 2 to 30, 2026 · next Dec 2
- 25 fees due Jan 2 to 25, 2027 · next Jan 2
- 22 fees due Feb 1 to 28, 2027 · next Feb 1
- 26 fees due Mar 1 to 26, 2027 · next Mar 1
- 32 fees due Apr 1 to 30, 2027 · next Apr 1
- 25 fees due May 3 to 28, 2027 · next May 3
- 44 fees due Jun 1 to 30, 2027 · next Jun 1
- 25 fees due Jul 2 to 30, 2027 · next Jul 2
- 25 fees due Aug 2 to 27, 2027 · next Aug 2
- 33 fees due Sep 1 to 30, 2027 · next Sep 1
- 33 fees due Oct 2 to 30, 2027 · next Oct 2
- 12 fees due Nov 3 to 14, 2027 · next Nov 3
Recent changes
- 14 of the patents on this record were granted since Aug 17, 2026
- 27 terms have ended since Aug 17, 2026
What they patent
The 5 largest of its 1,090 families, grouped by real patent family and labeled by the earliest filing in each. No technology classification is inferred from titles.
| Distributed Storage System | 5 in force | to Oct 2035 |
| Compound Storage System and Storage Control Method to Configure Change Associated with an Owner Right to Set the Configuration Change | 5 in force | to Sep 2033 |
| Storage System | 5 in force | to Jun 2033 |
| Apparatus for Processing Received Data | 4 in force | to Mar 2041 |
| System, and Control Method and Program for Input/Output Requests for Storage Systems | 4 in force | to Apr 2038 |
Patents held now
Soonest term end first.
| Patent | Title | Status | Expires | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 7,599,941 | Transparent Redirection and Load-Balancing in a Storage Network In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 8,904,129 | Method and Apparatus for Backup and Restore in a Dynamic Chunk Allocation Storage System In force · Medium confidence | In force | Medium confidence | |
| US 7,574,443 | Scalable Clustered Storage System In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 7,424,590 | Storage System and Data Storage Method In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 10,140,045 | Control Device for Storage System Capable of Acting as a Constituent Element of Virtualization Storage System In force · Low confidence | In force | Low confidence | |
| US 7,725,445 | Data Replication Among Storage Systems In force · Medium confidence | In force | Medium confidence | |
| US 7,428,614 | Management System for a Virtualized Storage Environment In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 9,021,212 | Semiconductor Memory System Having a Snapshot Function In force · Low confidence | In force | Low confidence | |
| US 7,640,390 | Flash Memory Storage System In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 8,099,499 | Storage and Service Provisioning for Virtualized and Geographically Dispersed Data Centers In force · Medium confidence | In force | Medium confidence |
Also on record, not counted in the 1,253: 2 patents in force now held by others · 213 patents ended · 131 applications pending · 86 applications abandoned. List them
Sources and methods
Compiled from USPTO application file histories, grants and recorded assignments, with the company's own names reviewed by hand. How this record was built
Portfolio grouped automatically from ownership conveyances to the names matched to this company, usually every name that begins with its own, so it counts patents an affiliate holds; each list row names the holder of record. Security interests are excluded and ambiguous records are not reviewed by hand.
Fee due within 90 days marks a patent with a maintenance fee due within 90 days of the date this page was computed and not yet recorded paid, so it can end earlier than the bar shows. A fee left unpaid ends the patent at the close of the six month grace period that follows its due date, not on the due date itself. It is not a prediction that the fee will be missed.
Computed patent terms end on the dates shown. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.