Assignment history

Inventors

• Philippe Bordes (Employer at filing: Thomson Licensing, based on initial assignment record)
• Pierre Andrivon (Employer at filing: Thomson Licensing, based on initial assignment record)
• Philippe Salmon (Employer at filing: Thomson Licensing, based on initial assignment record)

The patent text indicates the application was filed by "InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings SAS" and also lists them as the "Original Assignee". However, the first recorded assignment on the USPTO Assignment Center is from the inventors to "THOMSON LICENSING". This suggests the inventors were employed by Thomson Licensing or an affiliated entity, or assigned their rights to Thomson Licensing as part of their employment, which then became part of the broader InterDigital portfolio through subsequent transfers. There is no information to suggest inventors departed within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

According to Google Patents, the original assignee is InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings SAS. InterDigital is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: IDCC) that primarily engages in research, development, and licensing of wireless and video technologies. Their business model heavily relies on patent licensing rather than shipping products embodying the claims themselves. InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings SAS is a subsidiary acting as a patent holding and licensing entity for InterDigital, Inc. InterDigital, Inc. is an operating company, but its Madison Patent Holdings subsidiary acts in a licensing/asserting capacity for patents. Its current status is operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2013-01-16 to 2013-02-06 (executed) / recorded 2014-09-22 — Reel 033785/0049

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: BORDES, PHILIPPE; ANDRIVON, PIERRE; SALMON, PHILIPPE (Inventors)
  • Assignee: THOMSON LICENSING, FRANCE
  • Correspondent: BLANK ROME LLP, 1800 I STREET, NW, WASHINGTON, DC, 20006. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Initial assignment from inventors to corporate entity.

• 2017-01-13 (executed) / recorded 2017-01-13 — Reel 041370/0433

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: THOMSON LICENSING
  • Assignee: THOMSON LICENSING DTV, FRANCE
  • Correspondent: BLANK ROME LLP, 1800 I STREET, NW, WASHINGTON, DC, 20006. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization within Thomson entities.

• 2017-01-13 (executed) / recorded 2017-01-17 — Reel 041378/0630

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: THOMSON LICENSING
  • Assignee: THOMSON LICENSING DTV, FRANCE
  • Correspondent: BLANK ROME LLP, 1800 I STREET, NW, WASHINGTON, DC, 20006. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization within Thomson entities (appears to be a re-recording or duplicate of the prior assignment with a slightly different recording date).

• 2018-07-23 (executed) / recorded 2018-08-10 — Reel 046763/0001

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: THOMSON LICENSING DTV
  • Assignee: INTERDIGITAL MADISON PATENT HOLDINGS, FRANCE
  • Correspondent: BLANK ROME LLP, 1800 I STREET, NW, WASHINGTON, DC, 20006. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights to an InterDigital patent holding entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10250877
    2013 : Application filed by InterDigital Madison
    2014 : Inventors assign to Thomson Licensing
    2017 : Assigned to Thomson Licensing DTV
         : (Re-recorded)
    2018 : Assigned to InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings
    2019 : Patent granted
    2023 : First recorded litigation

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The final assignee, "InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings, FRANCE" is a patent holding company for InterDigital, Inc. which is primarily a patent licensing entity, rather than a direct product manufacturer embodying the claims. InterDigital is widely recognized as a patent licensing company that generates substantial revenue from patent assertion.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings (and its parent InterDigital, Inc.) is a well-known patent licensing and assertion entity, often categorized as an NPE. They are a frequent plaintiff in patent infringement lawsuits. The patent explicitly lists multiple active litigations associated with this patent.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. The law firm BLANK ROME LLP, with the address 1800 I STREET, NW, WASHINGTON, DC, 20006, is listed as the correspondent on all four recorded assignments (Reel 033785/0049, 041370/0433, 041378/0630, 046763/0001). This consistency suggests a coordinated strategy in managing the patent portfolio, common for active patent licensors.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. While there are two consecutive transfers between Thomson entities in 2017, and then to InterDigital in 2018, these appear to be internal corporate restructurings or portfolio consolidations rather than rapid, consecutive transfers between unrelated shell LLCs to obscure ownership.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The last recorded assignment to InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings occurred on 2018-08-10. The patent was granted on 2019-04-02. The earliest identified litigation from the Google Patents legal events section dates to 2023 (e.g., 5:23-cv-00493) or 2026 (e.g., IPR2026-00195), which is well after the 2018 assignment and patent grant.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No information suggests the original assignees or any entities in the chain filed for bankruptcy leading to a sale of this patent.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While InterDigital engages in patent assertion, the specific details of whether this patent is being asserted on behalf of a specific operating company against its competitors (privateering) are not ascertainable from the provided patent data. InterDigital often asserts patents it acquires or licenses more broadly.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain terminates with InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings, a known patent licensing and assertion entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The confidence is high due to the presence of multiple strong signals. The ultimate assignee, InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings, is a known patent licensing entity frequently identified as a Non-Practicing Entity (NPE). This is reinforced by the active litigation listed for this patent. The consistent use of the same correspondent, BLANK ROME LLP, across all recorded assignments further indicates a centrally managed and potentially assertion-focused patent strategy.
For verification, please consult the USPTO Patent Assignment Search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ and search for patent number 10250877.