Term ended no later than Feb 24, 2025 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Nov 25, 2024
USPTO later recorded it as expired for non-payment on Sep 29, 2025.
Held by Nichia Corporation and Citizen Electronics Co., Ltd.
Filed Jun 11, 2015 as application 14/736,487 · Granted Aug 22, 2017
Base term plus 91 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Ended no later than Feb 24, 2025
2004
2026
Clock starts
Nov 25, 2004
Nov 25, 2004
Ended no later than
Feb 24, 2025
Feb 24, 2025
Granted
Aug 22, 2017
Aug 22, 2017
base term
patent term adjustment
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
91
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
1 of 1
Maintenance fees paid
One maintenance fee can end this term early, the one due 3.5 years from grant; the next one's grace period runs past the term end. This counts it if the record shows it paid.
7
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 91 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. Confidence: Medium. 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 Nov 25, 2004, when application PCT/JP2004/017895, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jun 11, 2015) | Nov 25, 2024 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +91 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Feb 24, 2025 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | Medium confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 1 of 1 maintenance fees paid | term ended | High confidence |
| USPTO status record | Recorded as expired for non-payment on Sep 29, 2025, after the term ended | no change | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | no later than Feb 24, 2025 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 8,409,470 | In force Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| Application 13/775,334 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 9,738,829 | this patent no later than Feb 2025 | no later than Feb 2025 |
| US 10,072,207 | Term ended Nov 2024 | Nov 2024 |
| US 11,084,980 | Lapsed on the fee record Aug 2025 | Aug 2025 |
| US 11,697,765 | Term ended no later than Nov 2024 | no later than Nov 2024 |
6 of 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 18, 2015 Reel 37145, frame 685 | National Institute for Materials Science; Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation | Nichia Corporation; Citizen Electronics Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Partial Rights |
| Nov 18, 2015 reel/frame not recorded | Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation; National Institute for Materials Science | Nichia Corporation | Assignment of Partial Rights |
| Nov 18, 2015 reel/frame not recorded | Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation; National Institute for Materials Science | Citizen Electronics Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Partial Rights |
| Jun 14, 2017 Reel 42808, frame 399 | Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation; Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. | Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation | Merger and 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
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Note
The 91 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Feb 24, 2025. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
11
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median of utility patents granted in 2017 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
This computed term ends no later than the date shown; an unresolved terminal disclaimer may end it earlier. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.