Securities brokerage-cash management system
Merrill Lynch's Cash Management Account — the product that first swept brokerage cash into money-market funds and let you write checks against your portfolio — patented twice, three months apart, in 1980.
Assignee: Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith · Filed 1980-07-29 / 1980-10-22 · Granted 1982-08-24 / 1983-03-15 · Term end (est.) 2000-07-29 / 2000-10-22
Merrill Lynch's Cash Management Account, launched in 1977, was the product that taught a generation of investors that idle brokerage cash didn't have to sit idle: sweep it into a money-market fund overnight, write checks and use a debit card against the balance, get one combined statement. It's such a standard brokerage feature now that it's easy to forget it was ever new.
Merrill filed two related patents covering the mechanics — US4346442 (filed July 29, 1980, granted August 24, 1982) and US4376978 (filed October 22, 1980, granted March 15, 1983) — both titled 'Securities brokerage-cash management system.'
Both expired around the turn of the millennium, in 2000, under the pre-1995 17-years-from-grant rule. By then, sweep accounts and cash-management features were standard across the brokerage industry — the patent's expiration was a formality by the time it actually happened.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use an expired or public-domain patent?
Once a patent's term ends or it lapses for non-payment, the invention it claimed generally enters the public domain and can be made, used, or sold without a license from the former owner. Separate copyrights, trademarks, or other patents may still apply to a specific product. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is an estimated date the same as a legal ruling?
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What does a maintenance-fee lapse mean?
US patents require maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after grant. If the owner stops paying, the patent lapses early and the invention enters the public domain years before its term would otherwise end.