Lapsed Jul 3, 2020 on the fee record · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Oct 12, 2027
Why Medium: A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) with no resolved reference, so the term may end earlier.
Second maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by Activision Publishing, Inc.
Filed Jun 3, 2010 as application 12/793,417 · Granted Jul 3, 2012
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Jul 3, 2020
2007
2027
Clock starts
Oct 12, 2007
Oct 12, 2007
No longer in force
Jul 3, 2020
Jul 3, 2020
Granted
Jul 3, 2012
Jul 3, 2012
Term would have run to
Oct 12, 2027
Oct 12, 2027
base term
after the term ends
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
1 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.
Its term would have run to Oct 12, 2027: its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. Confidence: Medium. 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.
| Step | Input | Date after this step | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base term, 20 years from filing | Clock starts Oct 12, 2007, when application 11/871,490, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jun 3, 2010) | Oct 12, 2027 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | Medium confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 1 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Jul 3, 2020 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jul 3, 2020 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,792,801 | In force Sep 2028 | Sep 2028 |
| US 8,214,335 | this patent Jul 2020 | Jul 2020 |
| US 8,442,946 | In force Oct 2027 | Oct 2027 |
| Application 13/893,129 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
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.
| Recorded | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 2010 Reel 24527, frame 952 | Hamilton, Rick A., II; Kozloski, Jame R.; O'connell, Brian M.; Pickover, Clifford A.; Seaman, James W.; Walker, Keith R. | International Business Machines Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 28, 2013 Reel 29900, frame 285 | International Business Machines Corporation | Activision 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.
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Jul 3, 2020. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
151
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% of utility patents granted in 2012 in our data, the only group it is compared against.
How we rank
Every date shows its work: the base term, any term adjustment or extension, any disclaimer cap, and the maintenance fee record, each with a confidence tier. How this record was built
Computed patent terms end on the dates shown. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.