Term ends Mar 20, 2027 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Mar 19, 2021
Held by Saturn Licensing LLC
Filed Mar 19, 2001 as application 09/812,163 · Granted Nov 23, 2010
Base term plus 2192 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2001
2027
Clock starts
Mar 19, 2001
Mar 19, 2001
Term ends
Mar 20, 2027
Mar 20, 2027
Granted
Nov 23, 2010
Nov 23, 2010
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
2,192
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.
60
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 2192 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 Mar 19, 2001, when this application, 09/812,163, was filed | Mar 19, 2021 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +2192 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Mar 20, 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 | Mar 20, 2027 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,840,644 | this patent Mar 2027 | Mar 2027 |
| US 7,151,572 | Term ended no later than Sep 2021 | no later than Sep 2021 |
| US 7,212,729 | Term ended Nov 2024 | Nov 2024 |
| US 7,545,792 | Lapsed on the fee record Jun 2021 | Jun 2021 |
| US 7,835,620 | In force Feb 2027 | Feb 2027 |
| US 8,417,086 | Lapsed on the fee record Apr 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| US 7,212,219 | Term ended Apr 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| US 8,270,803 | Lapsed on the fee record Sep 2020 | Sep 2020 |
8 of 60 applications in this family shown, earliest filings first. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7, 2001 Reel 12142, frame 932 | Yuzawa, Keiji | Sony Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jul 13, 2017 Reel 43177, frame 794 | Sony Corporation | Saturn Licensing LLC | 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
Mar 2027
Term ends Mar 20, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 2192 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.