386 patents currently held
1 more in force is now held by another company
Held is read from USPTO's recorded assignments; a transfer never recorded there does not appear.
8 more records may belong here and await a decision; they are not counted.
The next term ends in Nov 2026. from the record
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
144
Ending by 2030
Nov 2026
Next term end
270
Patent families
When these terms end
Held patents by the year their term ends
notable patents
fee due within 90 days
all others
Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
Notable: the highest-ranked patents in this portfolio by citations and family size. Fee due within 90 days: a maintenance fee is due within 90 days of when this page was computed and not yet paid.
Notable patents
Ranked by citations and family size, against patents of the same kind granted the same year. How we rank
Notable
Ends Dec 2031 · High confidence
Also notable
Ends Sep 2028 · High confidence
Also notable
Ends Dec 2029 · High confidence
Interactive Video Game with Visual Lighting Effects
US 8,894,462
Cited by 130 later US patents, top 5% of utility patents granted in 2014 in our data, and renewed at 3 of 3 maintenance windows. Protection runs to 2031.
Controlling and Using Virtual Universe Wish Lists
US 7,792,801
Cited by 175 later US patents, top 5% of utility patents granted in 2010 in our data, and renewed at 3 of 3 maintenance windows. Protection runs to 2028.
Dialog Server for Handling Conversation in Virtual Space Method and Computer Program for Having Conversation in Virtual Space
US 8,156,184
Cited by 155 later US patents, top 5% of utility patents granted in 2012 in our data, and renewed at 3 of 3 maintenance windows. Protection runs to 2029.
Fee deadlines
Maintenance fees fall due 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years after grant. A missed fee ends a patent at the end of the six month grace period that follows, not on the due date.
- 4 fees due Nov 14 to 28, 2026 · next Nov 14
- 8 fees due Dec 6 to 27, 2026 · next Dec 6
- 4 fees due Jan 9 to 25, 2027 · next Jan 9
- 10 fees due Feb 1 to 28, 2027 · next Feb 1
- 1 fee due Mar 24, 2027The maintenance fee for System And Method For Enabling Players To Participate In Asynchronous, Competitive Challenges (US 10,421,019) comes due Mar 24, 2027. Unpaid by Sep 24, 2027, it lapses early.
- 5 fees due Apr 6 to 24, 2027 · next Apr 6
- 6 fees due May 5 to 26, 2027 · next May 5
- 7 fees due Jun 3 to 29, 2027 · next Jun 3
- 7 fees due Jul 2 to 30, 2027 · next Jul 2
- 6 fees due Aug 13 to 27, 2027 · next Aug 13
- 7 fees due Sep 3 to 30, 2027 · next Sep 3
- 4 fees due Oct 7 to 30, 2027 · next Oct 7
- 2 fees due Nov 12, 2027
Recent changes
- 6 of the patents on this record were granted since Aug 16, 2026
- 8 terms have ended since Aug 16, 2026
What they patent
The 5 largest of its 270 families, grouped by real patent family and labeled by the earliest filing in each. No technology classification is inferred from titles.
Patents held now
Soonest term end first.
| Patent | Title | Status | Expires | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 8,057,307 | Handling of Players and Objects in Massive Multi-Player On-Line Games In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 7,698,656 | Methods, Apparatus and Computer Programs Supporting Shortcuts Across a Plurality of Devices In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 7,436,407 | Topology Determination, Decomposable Shape Generation, and Structured Mesh Generation In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 7,985,138 | Sip Based VoIP Multiplayer Network Games In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 7,580,888 | Facilitating Simulated Purchases of Items by Virtual Representations of Participants in Computer-Based Simulations In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 7,467,181 | System and Method for Context-Specific Instant Messaging In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 7,734,691 | Providing Collaboration Services to a Wireless Device In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 7,856,469 | Searchable Instant Messaging Chat Repositories Using Topic and Identifier Metadata In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 8,334,871 | Spawning Projected Avatars in a Virtual Universe In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence | |
| US 8,692,835 | Spawning Projected Avatars in a Virtual Universe In force · High confidence | In force | High confidence |
Also on record, not counted in the 386: 1 patent in force now held by others · 120 patents ended · 16 applications pending · 60 applications abandoned. List them
Sources and methods
Compiled from USPTO application file histories, grants and recorded assignments, with the company's own names reviewed by hand. How this record was built
Portfolio grouped automatically from ownership conveyances to the names matched to this company, usually every name that begins with its own, so it counts patents an affiliate holds; each list row names the holder of record. Security interests are excluded and ambiguous records are not reviewed by hand.
Fee due within 90 days marks a patent with a maintenance fee due within 90 days of the date this page was computed and not yet recorded paid, so it can end earlier than the bar shows. A fee left unpaid ends the patent at the close of the six month grace period that follows its due date, not on the due date itself. It is not a prediction that the fee will be missed.
Computed patent terms end on the dates shown. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.