I want to know the answer to the following question:
A patent issue much later than normally expected can be referred to as what?
All the background I'm provided with is that "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.". Is that enough to answer the question?
Answer: no