Maybe DYE have purchased the Patent - wouldn't be the first time now would it? Cough... Matrix... Cough. Cough... Rotor... Cough.
Archon was Zap's parent company wasn't it? If those guys had the Patent, I'm guessing it may have come on to the market when ProCaps moved in on Zap. But that is only a guess and not based on anything factual.
What DYE do really well is bringing products to market, refining them so that they work how the player wants them to work, and making them look damn good in the process.
Don't worry about the Patent - do you really care? I'm betting we've got another hit product from Proto here.