Term ends Jun 19, 2027 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Sep 21, 2024
Filed Sep 21, 2004 as application 10/945,268 · Granted May 5, 2009
Base term plus 1001 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2004
2027
Clock starts
Sep 21, 2004
Sep 21, 2004
Term ends
Jun 19, 2027
Jun 19, 2027
Granted
May 5, 2009
May 5, 2009
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
1,001
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.
2
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 runs 1001 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 Sep 21, 2004, when this application, 10/945,268, was filed | Sep 21, 2024 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1001 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jun 19, 2027 | 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 | Jun 19, 2027 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,528,998 | this patent Jun 2027 | Jun 2027 |
| US 7,920,302 | Term ended no later than Mar 2025 | no later than Mar 2025 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 3, 2004 Reel 15417, frame 795 | Yoshioka, Kazuei; Fujimoto, Jun | Aruze Corp.; Seta Corp. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 3, 2004 reel/frame not recorded | Fujimoto, Jun; Yoshioka, Kazuei | Aruze Corp. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 3, 2004 reel/frame not recorded | Fujimoto, Jun; Yoshioka, Kazuei | Seta Corp. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jul 21, 2010 Reel 24719, frame 798 | Seta Corporation | Aruze Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jul 26, 2010 Reel 24766, frame 576 | Aruze Corporation | Universal Entertainment Corporation | 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.
What's changing
Jun 2027
Term ends Jun 19, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 1001 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
3
later US patents cite 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
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.