Patents 2026
Patents approaching expiration or recently entered the public domain. Build on technology that is becoming free — curated for founders and researchers.
Three editorial buckets
Click a segment to focus on that bucket. Bar width shows the proportion of patents in each.
Patents in the public domain
Patents approaching expiration or recently freed up — built for founders looking for technology to ship on.
Expiring soon
Public domain in the next 90 days. Time-sensitive opportunities.
Reverse osmosis membrane and process
Reverse osmosis hydrophilic antifouling membrane coatings that cut scaling and unlock easier high-salinity water treatment.
Membrane for filtering of water
Aquaporin-channel water filtration membranes unlock ultra-pure water and glycerol processing without high-pressure desalination.
Depth estimation using structured light
Structured-light depth estimation that turns projected patterns into real-time distance maps—now free to build without licensing hurdles.
System and method for image classification using convolutional neural networks
Convolutional neural network image classification unlocks plug-and-play vision models for real-time product and document sorting.
System and method for object detection
Global-to-local object detection systems that pinpoint parts after coarse scene detection are now expiring soon.
Anti-glypican 3 antibody
Anti-glypican 3 (GPC3) antibody that boosts ADCC/CDC to unlock next-gen liver cancer immunotherapy.
Cross-linked polyhydroxyalkanoate polymeric materials
Cross-linked polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics unlock tougher, processable biopolymer parts without licensing roadblocks.
RNA containing modified nucleosides and methods of use thereof
Modified RNA with pseudouridine that extends in vivo gene therapy and silencing payloads without licensing constraints.
Conductive polymer compositions and methods of use
Conductive polymer compositions for antistatic and electromagnetic shielding—unlocking low-cost, stable EMI protection films.
Highly flexible aerogel insulated structures and method of manufacturing the same
Flexible fiber-reinforced aerogel insulation that stays moisture-permeable unlocks high-performance building envelopes.
Recommendation system
Recommendation system using aggregated behavioral associations that maps items to related items for personalized shopping suggestions.
Biodegradable foam
Enzymatically biodegradable open-pore foam unlocks reusable absorbent packaging and disposable filters without long-lasting residues.
Biodegradable and compostable material
Biodegradable impermeable compostable coatings that keep packaging sealed and anti-static, now unlock license-free products.
Battery grid
Battery grid packaging that organizes internal wires and exposes a current collection lug for easier, cheaper battery assembly.
RNA containing modified nucleosides and methods of use thereof
Pseudouridine-modified RNA enables longer-lasting gene therapy and protein delivery without immediate licensing friction.
Metal-organic frameworks with exceptionally high capacity for storage of carbon dioxide at room-temperature
Metal-organic frameworks that store 10+ CO₂ molecules per formula unit at room temperature unlock compact carbon capture.
Graphene-based nanomaterials and methods of making same
Ordered graphene oxide nanomaterials unlock scalable, tuneable conductive layers for next-gen electronics manufacturing.
Miniaturized GPS/MEMS IMU integrated board
Miniaturized GPS/MEMS IMU integrated navigation boards that fuse camera-and-range data for robust robot localization.
Self-healing polymeric compositions and methods of making the same
Self-healing polymeric compositions that autonomously repair damage, unlocking durable medical device housings and tubing.
Biodegradable polymer composition
Biodegradable polymer masterbatch additive that turns polyethylene, polypropylene, and PVC blends into compostable-like plastics.
System and method for addressing overfitting in a neural network
Dropout-style feature-detector disabling that reduces overfitting and unlocks more reliable neural network generalization.
Just freed up
Entered the public domain in the last 12 months. Still warm.
Nanoparticles for drug-delivery
Polymeric drug-delivery nanoparticles with surface-targeted ligands up to 1000 nm unlock targeted aqueous dosing.
Worth knowing about
Curatorial picks — foundational technology now free to build on.
Gene therapy for congestive heart failure
Beta-adrenergic transgene gene therapy that boosts myocardial responsiveness—unlocking heart-failure treatment models.
Lithium-ion battery
Graphite-density and PVDF-coated separator lithium-ion design unlocks capacity-fade-resistant batteries without extra licensing.
Lithium-ion battery
Graphite-density lithium-ion cells with PVDF-coated separators unlock longer cycle life without capacity fade for consumer batteries.
Lithium-ion battery
Lithium-ion battery cathode/anode material engineering that enables reversible lithium-ion doping and undoping unlocks corrosion-resistant cycling.
Enzymatic fuel cell
Enzymatic fuel cells using biological redox molecules now enable moderate-temperature power without harsh, corrosive chemicals.
Three-dimension imaging lidar
3D imaging LiDAR range-resolved scanning that unlocks robot perception and mapping from public-domain optics.
All solid-state thin-film cell and application thereof
All solid-state thin-film cells using semiconductor sputtering and vapor deposition patterns now expired for new deployments.
Natural language processing system and method for query interpretation
Natural language query interpretation that converts user intent into retrieval-ready representations is now available without IBM licensing.
Metal contact structure for solar cell and method of manufacture
Metal contact structure for solar cells that boosts efficiency by combining antireflection base and barrier layers.
Sequestration of carbon dioxide
CO2-to-carbonate sequestration using membrane capture plus catalytic carbonic-acid formation enables solid, storable CO2 removal.
All solid state battery
Thin-film all-solid-state batteries that form via high-temperature oxidizing-atmosphere heating unlock flexible, safer power.
Method and apparatus for recognizing objects
Time-of-flight 3D object recognition that unlocks range-aware robotic perception without ongoing licensing fees.
Aerogel/PTFE composite insulating material
Aerogel/PTFE composite insulation for moisture-permeable thermal garments is now open for faster, royalty-light licensing-free design.
Method and apparatus for categorizing documents using machine learning
Machine-learning document categorization enables turnkey email, ticket, and report routing systems from expiring IBM IP.
Robotic manipulation system and method
Robotic manipulation with sensor-feedback coordinated control can unlock cheaper, faster surgical and industrial automation builds.
Music recommendation system and method
Audio-signal music recommendation that generates playlists from extracted analysis data is now available without licensing.
Method and device for fabricating aerogels and aerogel monoliths obtained thereby
Hot-press sealed-vessel aerogel monolith fabrication unlocks rapid production for doped chemical-sensing materials.
Vision-based robotic navigation system
Vision-based robotic navigation using image feature identification that unlocks license-free autonomy for mobile robots.
Methods for antibody engineering
Antibody engineering by sequence comparison finds safe modification sites to preserve antigen binding.
Method for computer-implemented image understanding using a probabilistic model
Probabilistic graphical model image understanding unlocks royalty-free object and scene inference from video and images.
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