An exception is the United States, where patents filed prior to 8 June 1995 expire 17 years after the publication date of the patent, but application extensions make it possible for a patent to issue much later than normally expected (see submarine patents). The various MP3-related patents expire on dates ranging from 2007 to 2017 in the U.S. Patents filed for anything disclosed in ISO CD 11172 a year or more after its publication are questionable. If only the known MP3 patents filed by December 1992 are considered, then MP3 decoding has been patent-free in the US since 22 September 2015 when U.S. Patent 5,812,672 expired which had a PCT filing in October 1992. If the longest-running patent mentioned in the aforementioned references is taken as a measure, then the MP3 technology will be patent-free in the United States on 30 December 2017 when U.S. Patent 5,703,999, held by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and administered by Technicolor, expires. COUNT 5
QSN1 How long does it take for patents to expire in the United States? ANS1 17 years after the publication date QSN2 A patent issue much later than normally expected can be referred to as what? ANS2 submarine patents QSN3 What year is the latest that MP3 related patents will expire on in the United States? ANS3 2017 QSN4 Who holds the longest running MP3 patent in the United States? ANS4 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft QSN5 Who administered the longest running MP3 patent in the United States? ANS5 Technicolor