Term ends Dec 11, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ended May 1, 2026
Held by Hitachi, Ltd.
Filed May 1, 2006 as application 11/414,204 · Granted Jul 1, 2008
Base term plus 224 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
May 1, 2006
May 1, 2006
Term ends
Dec 11, 2026
Dec 11, 2026
Granted
Jul 1, 2008
Jul 1, 2008
base term
patent term adjustment
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
224
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
3 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.
This patent's term runs 224 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. 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 May 1, 2006, when this application, 11/414,204, was filed | May 1, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +224 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 11, 2026 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | None on record | no cap applied | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 3 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Dec 11, 2026 | High confidence |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 2007 Reel 19198, frame 710 | Smith, Alfred | Board of Regents , the University of Texas System | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Sep 7, 2007 Reel 19796, frame 74 | Fujimaki, Hisataka; Matsuda, Koji; Akiyama, Hiroshi; Yanagisawa, Masaki; Hiramoto, Kazuo | Hitachi, Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 17, 2024 Reel 67453, frame 912 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Hitachi High-Tech Corporation | Split |
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
Dec 2026
Term ends Dec 11, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 224 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
107
later US patents cite this one
That is top 10% of utility patents granted in 2008 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.