Also listed on NEC Display Soloutions, Ltd., an earlier holder on the record. The recorded assignments below show how it moved.
Term ends Feb 18, 2029 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Oct 25, 2024
Held by Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
Filed Oct 25, 2004 as application 10/971,040 · Granted Apr 20, 2010
Base term plus 1577 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2004
2029
Clock starts
Oct 25, 2004
Oct 25, 2004
Term ends
Feb 18, 2029
Feb 18, 2029
Granted
Apr 20, 2010
Apr 20, 2010
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
1,577
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 1577 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 Oct 25, 2004, when this application, 10/971,040, was filed | Oct 25, 2024 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1577 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Feb 18, 2029 | 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 | Feb 18, 2029 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 2004 Reel 15935, frame 122 | Ookubo, Toshikazu | NEC Viewtechnology, Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 4, 2007 Reel 19249, frame 214 | NEC Viewtechnology., Ltd. | NEC Display Soloutions, Ltd. | Change of Name |
| Feb 8, 2021 Reel 55256, frame 755 | NEC Display Solutions, Ltd. | Sharp NEC Display Solutions, Ltd. | Change of Name |
| Jun 26, 2026 Reel 75830, frame 97 | Sharp NEC Display Solutions, Ltd. | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Merger |
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.
What's changing
Feb 2029
Term ends Feb 18, 2029. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 1577 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
4
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2010 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.