Term ends no later than Dec 2, 2026 · Medium confidence

Computed 20-year base term

In force on USPTO's status record and by its fee record. A terminal disclaimer on file may shorten this term, possibly to a date already past; its reference document is unresolved, so the date above is an upper bound and no earlier date is guessed.

Held by Minolta Co., Ltd.

Filed Jun 27, 2003 as application 10/609,232 · Granted Apr 21, 2009

Base term plus 1254 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)

Today

20 years from filing

Ends no later than Dec 2, 2026

2003 2026

Clock starts
Jun 27, 2003

Ends no later than
Dec 2, 2026

Granted
Apr 21, 2009

base term patent term adjustment fee events 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

1,254

Days of term adjustment

Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.

Unresolved

Terminal disclaimer

On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.

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 1254 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. 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 Jun 27, 2003, when this application, 10/609,232, was filed	Jun 27, 2023	High confidence
Continuity chain	Every parent in the chain resolved	no change	High confidence
Patent term adjustment	+1254 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record	Dec 2, 2026	High confidence
Terminal disclaimer cap	Disclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolved	no cap applied, and none guessed	Medium 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	no later than Dec 2, 2026	Medium 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
Jun 27, 2003 Reel 14262, frame 372	Hagimori, Hitoshi; Yamamoto, Yasushi; Yagyu, Genta; Ishimaru, Kazuhiko	Minolta Co., Ltd.	Assignment of Assignor's Interest

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 no later than Dec 2, 2026. No further fees fall due before then

Note

A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed

Note

The 1254 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us

Open question

A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Dec 2, 2026. We will not guess the cap.

Citations

later US patent cites this one

That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2009 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

This computed term ends no later than the date shown; an unresolved terminal disclaimer may end it earlier. 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.

Imaging Device and Digital Camera Using the Imaging Device