23 active trading patents, counting down to verified death dates
Every tombstone below is a live countdown to the patent's USPTO-adjusted expiration date — verified individually against USPTO legal-status data, patent-term adjustment included, in July 2026. When the clock hits zero, the patent has entered the public domain (assuming its maintenance fees stayed paid to the end).
In-depth death notices
A few of the 23 get the full treatment: history, context, what becomes free.
All 23, soonest first
Method and system for monitoring for and reporting of lien distress ev…
Method and system for using credit lines to enhance the durability of …
System and method for replenishing quantities of trading orders
Method and system for updating a loan portfolio with information on se…
Match server for a financial exchange having fault tolerant operation
Systems and methods for sharing data from web accessed calculators
Method and system for financially monitoring an order
System and method for routing trading orders in an electronic trading …
System and method for limiting aggressive trading in a electronic trad…
Matching of trading orders based on priority
System and method for apportioning trading orders based on size of dis…
Method and system for enterprise portfolio management based on compone…
Method and apparatus for conducting an online information service
Method and apparatus for conducting an information brokering service
Computer system for predicting the evolution of a chronological set of…
System and method for matching electronic proposals to electronic requ…
Providing transparent health care information to consumers
Management method and system for a user
Method and apparatus for lower of cost or market value monitoring and …
Correction: seven were already dead
Our launch list was computed with naive filing-plus-20-years math. When we verified every entry against USPTO-adjusted expiration data (July 12, 2026), seven turned out to have died years earlier — terminal disclaimers and parent-anchored terms cut them short. They're graves, not countdowns. We keep them here as a public correction and as a demonstration of why the naive math isn't enough.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Actually died | We claimed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7558746 | Method and system for dynamically controlling overtime in el… | Ariba, Inc. | 2019-12-22 | 2026-08-07 |
| US7440920 | Tool for estimating a cost of a trade | Lehman Brothers Inc. (assigned to Barclays Capital, 2008) | 2021-04-14 | 2026-08-01 |
| US7742963 | Methods and systems for analyzing and predicting market winn… | Barclays Capital Inc. | 2023-02-02 | 2026-08-01 |
| US7505920 | Methods and apparatuses for pay-per-call advertising in mobi… | UTBK, LLC (later Thryv, Inc.) | 2023-10-06 | 2026-07-21 |
| US7797210 | Construction payment management system and method with graph… | Textura Corporation | 2025-01-10 | 2026-07-13 |
| US7822665 | Using commercial share of wallet in private equity investmen… | American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. | 2025-02-04 | 2026-08-02 |
| US7792732 | Using commercial share of wallet to rate investments | American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. | 2025-10-08 | 2026-08-02 |
Frequently asked questions
What happens on the countdown date?
That date is the patent's USPTO-adjusted expiration — verified individually against USPTO legal-status data (patent-term adjustment included) in July 2026. When it passes, the patent's term has ended and the claimed invention enters the public domain. It's still an estimate of status, not a legal ruling.
Is the countdown date guaranteed?
It's much stronger than raw patent-term math — each date on the countdown list was checked against USPTO-adjusted expiration data — but it still assumes maintenance fees keep being paid (a lapse would only make the death earlier), and it isn't a legal determination. Confirm against USPTO records before relying on it.
Can I build the invention once it expires?
Once the term ends, the specific claimed invention generally becomes free to make, use, or sell without a license. Other patents or rights may still cover a particular product; this isn't legal advice.