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Messaging Systems and Methods

US 8,281,146 Lapsed on the fee record
OverviewFamilyAssignmentsSources & methods

Lapsed Oct 2, 2024 on the fee record · High confidence

Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.

Filed Jan 10, 2011 as application 12/987,609 · Granted Oct 2, 2012
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Oct 2, 2024
2004 2026
Clock starts
Dec 20, 2004
No longer in force
Oct 2, 2024
Granted
Oct 2, 2012
Term would have run to
Dec 20, 2024
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.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
2 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 Dec 20, 2024: its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. 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 Dec 20, 2004, when application 11/017,461, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jan 10, 2011)Dec 20, 2024High confidence
Continuity chainEvery parent in the chain resolvedno changeHigh confidence
Patent term adjustmentNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Terminal disclaimer capNone on recordno cap appliedHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events2 of 3 maintenance fees paidlapsed Oct 2, 2024High confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderOct 2, 2024High confidence

This family

US 7,882,360In force
Mar 2028
Mar 2028
US 8,281,146this patent
Oct 2024
Oct 2024
US 8,949,943Term ended
Dec 2024
Dec 2024
US 10,469,471Term ended
Dec 2024
Dec 2024
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
Mar 30, 2011
Reel 26050, frame 140
Landsman, Richard A.MBLX, LLCAssignment of Assignor's Interest
Mar 30, 2011
Reel 26050, frame 285
Landsman, RichardMBLX LLCAssignment of Assignor's Interest
Mar 31, 2011
Reel 26055, frame 19
AOL LLCAOL Inc.Assignment of Assignor's Interest
Mar 31, 2011
Reel 26056, frame 79
MBLX LLCAmerica Online, Inc.Assignment of Assignor's Interest
Mar 31, 2011
Reel 26067, frame 426
America Online, Inc.AOL LLCChange of Name
Jun 28, 2012
Reel 28463, frame 125
AOL Inc.Facebook, Inc.Assignment of Assignor's Interest
Dec 20, 2021
Reel 58961, frame 436
Facebook, Inc.Meta Platforms, Inc.Change of Name

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.

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