As Dave said, "BattleChat" appears to be a trade/service mark and definitely not a patent. Companies file for these all the time, and the fact that Blizzard would file a service mark application for the name really doesn't suggest a revolutionary new product. More likely, this could just be a name by which Blizzard hopes to collectively refer to their player-to-player communication services in future products.
Blizzard patents "BattleChat," renews Blackthorne patent
Jan 31st 2008 10:44PM (WoW)The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day one
Jan 4th 2008 1:52AM (WoW)The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day two
Jan 2nd 2008 1:41PM (WoW)The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day three
Jan 1st 2008 1:49PM (WoW)The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day four
Dec 31st 2007 2:40PM (WoW)The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day five
Dec 30th 2007 5:08PM (WoW)The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day seven
Dec 28th 2007 1:39PM (WoW)The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day eight
Dec 27th 2007 2:37PM (WoW)The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day nine
Dec 27th 2007 2:52AM (WoW)The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day ten
Dec 24th 2007 2:30PM (WoW)