Assignment history

Inventors

• John S. Shriber: Likely Newsplug Inc.
• Roman Zaks: Likely Newsplug Inc.

No unusual patterns observed regarding inventors departing the original assignee.

Original assignee

Newsplug Inc.
Newsplug Inc. was the original assignee, having filed the patent application on 2016-04-29. The patent describes a search engine that incorporates user-generated content like ratings and comments for indexing and ranking web content, suggesting their primary line of business was in web search or content aggregation with a social component.
Its current operating status is unclear, though it was involved in reassignments and ultimately assigned the patent to a different entity in 2023.

Assignment timeline

• 2017-10-16 (executed) / recorded 2017-10-16 — Reel 040714/0403

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: SHRIBER, JOHN S.; ZAKS, ROMAN (inventors)
  • Assignee: SLANGWHO, INC.
  • Correspondent: K. T. LI, 348 SECOND AVE #217, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This correspondent recurs on all subsequent assignments for this patent.
  • Context: Transfer of inventors' interest to Slangwho, Inc., approximately 1.5 years after the patent application filing date by Newsplug Inc.

• 2018-03-27 (executed) / recorded 2018-04-03 — Reel 043236/0463

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: SLANGWHO, INC.
  • Assignee: NEWSPLUG, INC.
  • Correspondent: K. T. LI, 348 SECOND AVE #217, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This correspondent recurs on all subsequent assignments for this patent.
  • Context: Reassignment back to Newsplug, Inc. from Slangwho, Inc. This likely indicates a corporate restructuring or clarification of ownership after the previous assignment.

• 2023-02-22 (executed) / recorded 2023-03-01 — Reel 050474/0764

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: NEWSPLUG INC.
  • Assignee: SEARCH AND SHARE TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: K. T. LI, LAW OFFICES OF K.T. LI, 1000 EL CAMINO REAL, SUITE 240, MENLO PARK, CA 94025. This correspondent recurs on all subsequent assignments for this patent.
  • Context: Transfer from the original assignee (Newsplug Inc.) to a new entity, Search And Share Technologies LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10180952
    2016 : Filed by Newsplug Inc
    2017 : Assigned to Slangwho Inc
    2018 : Assigned to Newsplug Inc
    2019 : Issued
    2023 : Assigned to Search And Share Technologies LLC
    2025 : First infringement suit filed
    2026 : IPR case filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The current assignee, Search And Share Technologies LLC, is identified as an NPE by Unified Patents and has filed litigation in Texas Western District Court [cite: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/[ptab](/ptab)/case/IPR2026-00244, https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/litigation/Texas%20Western%20District%20Court/case/1%3A25-cv-01540]. The name "Technologies LLC" is also characteristic of shell entities. (Reel 050474/0764, executed 2023-02-22)

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Search And Share Technologies LLC is listed as a petitioner in a PTAB case (IPR2026-00244) and a plaintiff in district court cases (1:25-cv-01540, 1:25-cv-01440) on Unified Patents, which identifies them as an NPE [cite: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2026-00244, https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/litigation/Texas%20Western%20District%20Court/case/1%3A25-cv-01540]. (Reel 050474/0764, executed 2023-02-22)

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. K. T. Li (or Law Offices of K.T. Li) is the correspondent on all three recorded assignments: Reel 040714/0403 (2017-10-16), Reel 043236/0463 (2018-03-27), and Reel 050474/0764 (2023-02-22).

4. Cascading transfers — Present. There were two consecutive assignments within approximately five months: from inventors to Slangwho, Inc. on 2017-10-16 (Reel 040714/0403) and then from Slangwho, Inc. back to Newsplug, Inc. on 2018-03-27 (Reel 043236/0463). These rapid transfers with the same correspondent suggest a coordinated series of transactions.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The assignment to Search And Share Technologies LLC occurred on 2023-02-22 (Reel 050474/0764), while the earliest recorded litigation by this entity related to the patent began in 2025 [cite: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/litigation/Texas%20Western%20District%20Court/case/1%3A25-cv-01540], which is more than six months after the assignment.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No information suggests a bankruptcy sale.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While Newsplug Inc. appears to have been an operating company, there's no explicit evidence from the records to suggest they transferred the patent to Search And Share Technologies LLC specifically for assertion on their behalf against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently held by Search And Share Technologies LLC, which is identified as an NPE, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence
The patent has been transferred to Search And Share Technologies LLC, a known NPE that has initiated litigation involving this patent. This is strongly supported by the presence of a known asserter in the chain, clear evidence of shell-entity transfer, and the consistent use of the same correspondent across multiple assignment records, often indicative of coordinated patent management for assertion.
For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search for US10180952: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html?#patentNumber=[10180952](/patent/10180952)