Just Expired · Last 60 days
Free to use, starting now.
Every patent on this page has expired in the last sixty days — meaning the underlying technology has entered the public domain and can now be used freely without licensing the patent. Useful for builders, open-source maintainers, and freedom-to-operate research.
Nothing in our index expired in the last 60 days. Check back tomorrow.
What "expired" means
How patents enter the public domain
U.S. utility patents typically expire 20 years after the earliest filing date. Once a patent expires, the underlying invention enters the public domain — you can build, sell, and use it without infringement risk on that specific patent.
One important caveat: "the patent expired" doesn't always mean the technology is free to use. A product may be covered by a family of related patents (continuations, divisionals, foreign equivalents), some of which may still be in force. Always check the patent family before relying on expiration for FTO purposes.
PatentBrief is not a law firm. This page is informational. For commercial decisions, work with a registered patent attorney.