The Patent Finder
US

Flash Memory Storage System

US 7,899,981 Term ended
OverviewFamilyAssignmentsSources & methods

Term ended Aug 14, 2026 · High confidence

Filed Nov 13, 2009 as application 12/617,765 · Granted Mar 1, 2011
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
20 years from filing
Term ended Aug 14, 2026
2006 2026
Clock starts
Aug 14, 2006
Term ended
Aug 14, 2026
Granted
Mar 1, 2011
base term after the term ends 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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,640,390, to Aug 14, 2026. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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.
5
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 is its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. All three maintenance fees were paid, so no fee lapse ended it. 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.
StepInputDate after this stepConfidence
Base term, 20 years from filingClock starts Aug 14, 2006, when application 11/503,217, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Nov 13, 2009)Aug 14, 2026High confidence
Continuity chainEvery parent in the chain resolvedno changeHigh confidence
Patent term adjustmentNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Terminal disclaimer capDisclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 7,640,390)resolves to Aug 14, 2026, no earlier than this term, so no changeHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events3 of 3 maintenance fees paidterm endedHigh confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderAug 14, 2026High confidence

This family

US 7,640,390In force
Jun 2027
Jun 2027
US 7,899,981this patent
Aug 2026
Aug 2026
US 8,924,637Term ended
Aug 2026
Aug 2026
3 of 5 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.
RecordedAssignorAssigneeConveyance
Aug 20, 2024
Reel 69518, frame 761
Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi Vantara, Ltd.Company Split

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.

The Patent Finder CompaniesExpirationsCalculatorWatchlistPricing MethodologyCorrectionsLegalPrivacysupport@thepatentfinder.com Updated Nov 15, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 15, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) Part of 137 Finder · © 2026 137 Finder LLC · Sources cited