Assignment history

Inventors

The named inventor for U.S. Patent 10,134,054 is Roy Shkedi. At the time of filing, Roy Shkedi was the inventor who assigned the patent rights to Almondnet Inc., indicating Almondnet Inc. was likely his employer or the entity to which he assigned his inventive rights (Reel 042654/0831). There is no unusual pattern of inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months, as the assignment to Almondnet Inc. was recorded on the same day the application was filed.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Almondnet Inc.

Based on the patent's description, Almondnet Inc. is defined as a "BT company" (Behavioral Targeting company) that "specialize[s] in targeting ads based on observed behavior of sites' visitors." [Description, Background of the Invention] The company's operations, as described, involve placing cookies/tags and acting as an agent to sell and deliver ads to profiled visitors across various media properties. This indicates their primary line of business involves providing ad technology and services, rather than shipping a physical product.

Almondnet Inc. is currently operating, as evidenced by its active litigation campaign asserting this and related patents, as well as its "Active" legal status on Google Patents.

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Assignment Center search for U.S. Patent No. 10,134,054 reveals one assignment record:

• 2017-11-27 (executed) / recorded 2017-11-27 — Reel 042654/0831
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: SHKEDI, ROY, MR.
  • Assignee: ALMONDNET, INC.
  • Correspondent: BARDACK, MICHAEL J; RIVKIN RADLER LLP, 926 RXR PLAZA, UNIONDALE, NEW YORK 11556-0926. This correspondent appears once in this patent's assignment chain.
  • Context: This records the initial assignment of the inventor's rights to the corporate entity, Almondnet Inc., concurrent with the patent application filing.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10134054
    2006 : Priority Date
    2017 : Assigned to Almondnet Inc
         : Filed by Almondnet Inc
    2018 : Issued

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer

   • Not present. The only recorded transfer is from the inventor to the original assignee, Almondnet Inc., which is a typical initial assignment (Reel 042654/0831). There are no subsequent transfers to entities with names or characteristics indicative of a shell entity (e.g., "IP / Patents / Licensing / Holdings / Ventures" suffixes, registered-agent addresses).

2. Known asserter in the chain

   • Present. Almondnet Inc. is identified as the plaintiff in multiple infringement lawsuits involving this patent, as detailed in the "Known Litigation Involving U.S. Patent 10,134,054" section. This pattern of frequent assertion against major technology companies (e.g., Roku, Samsung, LG, VIZIO, Microsoft, Amazon) aligns with the behavior of a patent assertion entity (NPE).

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain

   • Unclear. The correspondent, BARDACK, MICHAEL J of RIVKIN RADLER LLP, is listed for the single recorded assignment (Reel 042654/0831). Without additional assignment records for this specific patent or broader access to other patent assignments handled by this correspondent for Almondnet Inc. or other entities, it is not possible to determine if they are a repeat correspondent across a chain or for known NPE assertion activities.

4. Cascading transfers

   • Not present. Only a single assignment from the inventor to Almondnet Inc. is recorded for this patent (Reel 042654/0831).

5. Pre-litigation transfer

   • Not present. The assignment from the inventor to Almondnet Inc. occurred on November 27, 2017 (Reel 042654/0831). The first infringement suit naming this patent was filed on May 20, 2021 (Almondnet, Inc. v. Roku, Inc., Case Number: 6:21-cv-00527), which is well outside the 6-month window prior to litigation.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale

   • Not present. There is no indication from the provided information or the USPTO assignment record that Almondnet Inc. has undergone bankruptcy proceedings leading to the sale of its patent assets.

7. Privateering

   • Unclear. While Almondnet Inc. is actively asserting patents, the available information does not explicitly state whether it is doing so on behalf of a specific operating company to target competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE)

   • Not present. The patent is currently held by Almondnet Inc., an entity engaged in patent assertion, not by a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

Almondnet Inc., the current assignee of U.S. Patent 10,134,054, has extensively asserted this patent in multiple infringement lawsuits against various technology companies, including Roku, Samsung, LG, VIZIO, Microsoft, and Amazon, as detailed in the "Known Litigation" section. This pattern of frequent litigation activity, without a clear indication of manufacturing products embodying the claims, is a strong signal of a patent assertion entity (NPE). [See USPTO Patent Assignment Search for US10134054: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html?pn=10134054]