Also listed on Sony Electronics Inc., an earlier holder on the record. The recorded assignments below show how it moved.
Term ends Dec 27, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ended May 16, 2026
Held by Sony Corporation and Sony Electronics Inc.
Filed May 16, 2006 as application 11/436,142 · Granted Aug 10, 2010
Base term plus 225 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
May 16, 2006
May 16, 2006
Term ends
Dec 27, 2026
Dec 27, 2026
Granted
Aug 10, 2010
Aug 10, 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
225
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.
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 225 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 May 16, 2006, when this application, 11/436,142, was filed | May 16, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +225 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 27, 2026 | 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 | Dec 27, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,774,288 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 7,844,557 | Lapsed on the fee record Nov 2022 | Nov 2022 |
| US 8,055,597 | Lapsed on the fee record Nov 2023 | Nov 2023 |
| US 7,640,220 | Lapsed on the fee record Dec 2021 | Dec 2021 |
| US 7,761,394 | Lapsed on the fee record Jul 2022 | Jul 2022 |
| US 7,630,946 | Lapsed on the fee record Dec 2021 | Dec 2021 |
| US 7,664,718 | Lapsed on the fee record Feb 2022 | Feb 2022 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Plutowski, Mark; Ohwa, Tsunayuki; Usuki, Takashi | Sony Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 17, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Plutowski, Mark; Ohwa, Tsunayuki; Usuki, Takashi | Sony Electronics Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 17, 2006 Reel 17911, frame 864 | Ohwa, Tsunayuki; Plutowski, Mark; Usuki, Takashi | Sony Corporation; Sony Electronics Inc. | 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
Dec 2026
Term ends Dec 27, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 225 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
27
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% 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.