Term ends Apr 3, 2034 · Medium confidence

Computed 20-year base term

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

Held by RIKEN

Filed Jan 30, 2019 as application 16/261,989 · Granted Jul 14, 2020

Base term, 20 years from filing

Today

20 years from filing

Term ends Apr 3, 2034

2014 2034

Clock starts
Apr 3, 2014

Term ends
Apr 3, 2034

Granted
Jul 14, 2020

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.

No effect

Terminal disclaimer

Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 10,222,601, to Apr 3, 2034. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.

1 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.

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. A terminal disclaimer is resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. 1 of 3 maintenance fees is paid so far. 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.

Step	Input	Date after this step	Confidence
Base term, 20 years from filing	Clock starts Apr 3, 2014, when application PCT/JP2014/059883, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jan 30, 2019); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row)	Apr 3, 2034	High confidence
Continuity chain	A parent in the chain could not be resolved	dated from this application's own claim	Medium confidence
Patent term adjustment	None on file	no change	High confidence
Terminal disclaimer cap	Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 10,222,601)	resolves to Apr 3, 2034, no earlier than this term, so no change	High confidence
Patent term extension	None on file	no change	High confidence
Fee events	1 of 3 maintenance fees paid	In force	High confidence
Computed term end	The steps above, in order	Apr 3, 2034	Medium confidence

This family

US 9,880,378	In force Sep 2034	Sep 2034
US 10,222,601	In force Apr 2034	Apr 2034
US 10,712,547	this patent Apr 2034	Apr 2034

3 of 4 applications in this family shown, earliest filings first. 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.

Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.

Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.

What's changing

Apr 2034

Term ends Apr 3, 2034. Maintenance fees still fall due before then

Terminal disclaimer

A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 10,222,601, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.

Citations

later US patents cite this one

That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2020 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.

Microscope, Focusing Unit, Fluid Holding Unit, and Optical Unit