Term ended Mar 9, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Mar 9, 2026
Held by Rakuten Group, Inc.
Filed Oct 18, 2019 as application 16/657,181 · Granted Dec 28, 2021
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Term ended Mar 9, 2026
2006
2026
Clock starts
Mar 9, 2006
Mar 9, 2006
Term ended
Mar 9, 2026
Mar 9, 2026
Granted
Dec 28, 2021
Dec 28, 2021
base term
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 10,510,043, to Mar 9, 2026. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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.
4
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. 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, 20 years from filing | Clock starts Mar 9, 2006, when application 11/371,462, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Oct 18, 2019) | Mar 9, 2026 | 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 | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 10,510,043) | resolves to Mar 9, 2026, no earlier than this term, so no change | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 1 of 1 maintenance fees paid | term ended | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Mar 9, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 10,740,722 | In force May 2033 | May 2033 |
| US 10,510,043 | In force Oct 2027 | Oct 2027 |
| US 10,740,723 | In force Mar 2031 | Mar 2031 |
| US 11,210,632 | this patent Mar 2026 | Mar 2026 |
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 23, 2019 Reel 50802, frame 879 | Gerace, Thomas A.; Barbour, Russell G. | Gather Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 23, 2019 Reel 50808, frame 117 | Gather Inc. | Skyword Inc. | Change of Name |
| May 13, 2020 Reel 53122, frame 264 | Hercules Capital Inc., as Agent | Skyword Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Aug 7, 2020 Reel 53426, frame 295 | Skyword Inc. | Rakuten, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jul 13, 2021 Reel 56845, frame 831 | Rakuten, Inc. | Rakuten Group, Inc. | Change of Name |
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.
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 10,510,043, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
4
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median of utility patents granted in 2021 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.