Term ends Mar 27, 2028 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Sep 13, 2026
Held by Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation and Canon Inc.
Filed Sep 13, 2006 as application 11/519,872 · Granted Dec 22, 2009
Base term plus 561 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2028
Clock starts
Sep 13, 2006
Sep 13, 2006
Term ends
Mar 27, 2028
Mar 27, 2028
Granted
Dec 22, 2009
Dec 22, 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
561
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 561 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 13, 2006, when this application, 11/519,872, was filed | Sep 13, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +561 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Mar 27, 2028 | 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 | Mar 27, 2028 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,635,851 | this patent Mar 2028 | Mar 2028 |
| US 8,008,622 | In force Dec 2026 | Dec 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 8, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Ando, Kimiaki; Fujita, Ryo; Inoue, Yuji; Yoda, Haruo; Muraki, Masato | Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 8, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Ando, Kimiaki; Fujita, Ryo; Inoue, Yuji; Yoda, Haruo; Muraki, Masato | Canon Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 8, 2006 Reel 18569, frame 829 | Fujita, Ryo; Yoda, Haruo; Ando, Kimiaki; Inoue, Yuji; Muraki, Masato | Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation; Canon Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 30, 2020 Reel 52259, frame 227 | Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation | Hitachi High-Tech Corporation | Change of Name and Address |
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
Mar 2028
Term ends Mar 27, 2028. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 561 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
2
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.