Lapsed Jul 8, 2026 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ends Nov 27, 2026
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by Sony Corporation and Sony Electronics Inc.
Filed Nov 27, 2006 as application 11/563,446 · Granted Jul 8, 2014
Base term, 20 years from filing, plus 394 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Lapsed Jul 8, 2026
2006
2027
Clock starts
Nov 27, 2006
Nov 27, 2006
No longer in force
Jul 8, 2026
Jul 8, 2026
Granted
Jul 8, 2014
Jul 8, 2014
Term would have run to
Dec 26, 2027
Dec 26, 2027
base term
patent term adjustment
after the term ends
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
394
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
2 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.
2
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Its term would have run to Dec 26, 2027: its 20-year base term plus 394 days of term adjustment for prosecution delay. 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 Nov 27, 2006, when this application, 11/563,446, was filed | Nov 27, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +394 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 26, 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 | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Jul 8, 2026 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jul 8, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,776,107 | this patent Jul 2026 | Jul 2026 |
| US 9,003,439 | In force no later than Nov 2026 | no later than Nov 2026 |
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 27, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Dacosta, Behram Mario | Sony Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 27, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Dacosta, Behram Mario | Sony Electronics Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 27, 2006 Reel 18554, frame 62 | Dacosta, Behram Mario | 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
Note
The 394 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
43
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% of utility patents granted in 2014 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.