The Patent Finder
US

Dialog Server for Handling Conversation in Virtual Space Method and Computer Program for Having Conversation in Virtual Space

US 8,156,184 In force
OverviewFamilyAssignmentsSources & methods

Term ends Dec 27, 2029 · High confidence

Filed Feb 19, 2009 as application 12/389,073 · Granted Apr 10, 2012
Base term plus 311 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
20 years from filing
2009 2029
Clock starts
Feb 19, 2009
Term ends
Dec 27, 2029
Granted
Apr 10, 2012
base term patent term adjustment fee events 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
311
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
3 of 3
Maintenance fees paid
Three maintenance fees fall due, at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years from grant. This counts the ones the record shows paid.
4
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.

This patent's term runs 311 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. Confidence: High. from the record

How we calculated this date

One row per rule, each showing its own input and what it did to the date. A step we could not verify says so instead of resolving itself.
StepInputDate after this stepConfidence
Base term, 20 years from filingClock starts Feb 19, 2009, when this application, 12/389,073, was filedFeb 19, 2029High confidence
Continuity chainEvery parent in the chain resolvedno changeHigh confidence
Patent term adjustment+311 days, USPTO patent term adjustment recordDec 27, 2029High confidence
Terminal disclaimer capNone on recordno cap appliedHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events3 of 3 maintenance fees paidIn forceHigh confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderDec 27, 2029High confidence

This family

US 8,156,184this patent
Dec 2029
Dec 2029
US 8,554,841In force
Feb 2029
Feb 2029
US 9,583,109In force
Feb 2029
Feb 2029
US 10,001,970In force
Feb 2029
Feb 2029
The applications whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.

Assignments

Assignment documents as recorded at the USPTO, oldest first, with the reel and frame each was recorded at. A recorded assignment is a filed document, not a statement of current ownership, and the absence of a later one is not evidence that the last one still stands.
RecordedAssignorAssigneeConveyance
May 5, 2009
Reel 22637, frame 449
Kurata, Gakuto; Nagano, Tohru; Tatsubori, MichiakiInternational Business Machines CorporationAssignment of Assignor's Interest
Feb 28, 2013
Reel 29900, frame 285
International Business Machines CorporationActivision Publishing, Inc.Assignment of Assignor's Interest
Feb 11, 2014
Reel 32240, frame 257
Activision Publishing, Inc.Bank Of America, N.a.Security Agreement
Oct 17, 2016
Reel 40381, frame 487
Bank Of America, N.a.Activision Blizzard Inc.; Activision Publishing, Inc.; Activision Entertainment Holdings, Inc.; Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.Release of Security Interest
Oct 17, 2016
reel/frame not recorded
Bank Of America, N.a.Activision Blizzard Inc.Release of Security Interest
Oct 17, 2016
reel/frame not recorded
Bank Of America, N.a.Activision Publishing, Inc.Release of Security Interest
Oct 17, 2016
reel/frame not recorded
Bank Of America, N.a.Activision Entertainment Holdings, Inc.Release of Security Interest
Oct 17, 2016
reel/frame not recorded
Bank Of America, N.a.Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.Release of Security Interest

Sources

Google Patents · The patent document at USPTO · Assignment records at USPTO

USPTO account required: This application in Patent Center · USPTO's maintenance fee lookup

Maintenance fee events come from USPTO's own fee records. Its fee lookup asks for the patent number and the application number.

The Patent Finder CompaniesExpirationsCalculatorWatchlistPricing MethodologyCorrectionsLegalPrivacysupport@thepatentfinder.com Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) Part of 137 Finder · © 2026 137 Finder LLC · Sources cited