Assignment history

Inventors

Christopher Newton and William Crowder were the named inventors. They were employed by Level 3 Communications LLC at the time of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent is Level 3 Communications LLC. Level 3 Communications LLC was an American multinational telecommunications and internet service provider. They operated a Tier 1 network and provided core transport, IP, voice, video, and content delivery services for large internet carriers and businesses. They offered a range of products including internet, security services, VoIP, Ethernet services, optical transport networks, and cloud connect solutions.

Level 3 Communications LLC was acquired by CenturyLink (now Lumen Technologies) on November 1, 2017. Prior to this, Level 3 Communications Inc. had acquired several companies and their assets, including Sandpiper Networks' CDN business in January 2007. Level 3 Communications LLC is now a subsidiary of Lumen Technologies, Inc., and continues to provide telecommunications and network services, including to the U.S. federal government.

Assignment timeline

• 2017-05-17 (executed) / recorded 2017-05-17 — Reel 042415/0361
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: NEWTON, CHRISTOPHER
  • Assignee: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC, COLORADO
  • Correspondent: NOT RECORDED
  • Context: Internal transfer from inventor to employer
• 2017-05-17 (executed) / recorded 2017-05-17 — Reel 042415/0404
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: CROWDER, WILLIAM
  • Assignee: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC, COLORADO
  • Correspondent: NOT RECORDED
  • Context: Internal transfer from inventor to employer
• 2024-05-31 (executed) / recorded 2024-07-09 — Reel 068256/0091
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
  • Assignee: SANDPIPER CDN, LLC, DELAWARE
  • Correspondent: Andrew D. Skale, Paradigm Counsel, LLP, 1680 Civic Center Dr. Ste. 100, Santa Clara, CA 95050. This correspondent also appears as counsel for other Sandpiper CDN entities in litigation records.
  • Context: Divestiture of CDN patent portfolio

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10701173
    2017 : Inventors to Level 3 Communications
    2020 : Patent issued
    2024 : Assigned to Sandpiper CDN LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. On 2024-05-31 (recorded 2024-07-09), Level 3 Communications LLC assigned the patent to Sandpiper CDN, LLC. Sandpiper CDN, LLC is a Delaware plaintiff that has launched litigation against major tech companies. Their website states they manage an extensive patent portfolio related to CDN technology and software. Their privacy policy notes that they collect general location information to identify where their audience views their site from, and that they may share information with data processors and partners, including Google Cloud Platform for secure cloud hosting, suggesting a focus on leveraging their IP for business operations rather than solely product development. Sandpiper CDN, LLC has also disclosed Theseus LF Asset Holdings, LLC as its parent corporation, which was formed in Delaware in August 2023. This structure indicates a licensing-focused entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Sandpiper CDN, LLC is a recently formed Delaware plaintiff that has initiated patent litigation against companies like Alphabet (Google) and Microsoft, asserting patents generally related to content delivery networks. This activity aligns with the behavior of a patent assertion entity (PAE) or NPE. RPX Insight has identified Sandpiper CDN, LLC as an entity that has launched litigation with patents received from Level 3 Communications.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Andrew D. Skale of Paradigm Counsel, LLP is listed as the correspondent for the 2024-07-09 assignment to Sandpiper CDN, LLC (Reel 068256/0091). Publicly available information from RPX shows Andrew D. Skale as counsel for Sandpiper CDN, LLC in patent litigation campaigns.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is one main assignment from Level 3 Communications to Sandpiper CDN, LLC.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The patent was assigned to Sandpiper CDN, LLC on 2024-05-31, and litigation by Sandpiper CDN, LLC was reported in May 2024 against Google and June 2025 against Microsoft. While the assignment date is close to reported litigation, the exact filing date of the first suit specifically naming this patent is not precisely six months before the assignment date based on the information available.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Level 3 Communications was acquired by CenturyLink (now Lumen Technologies) in 2017, not dissolved or in bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — unclear. While Level 3 Communications (which became part of Lumen Technologies) divested its CDN business and related patents to Sandpiper CDN, LLC, there is no explicit information to definitively state that Level 3 or Lumen Technologies is sponsoring Sandpiper CDN's assertion activities against competitors. However, RPX notes that this transfer is not Level 3's first to an NPE.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with Sandpiper CDN, LLC, which is identified as a patent assertion entity.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The transfer from Level 3 Communications LLC to Sandpiper CDN, LLC, a recently formed Delaware LLC specializing in managing an extensive patent portfolio and initiating litigation against major tech companies, strongly indicates an NPE. This is further supported by the identification of Sandpiper CDN, LLC as a plaintiff by RPX and the recurrence of the correspondent attorney, Andrew D. Skale, known for NPE representation. The fact that Level 3 Communications decided to exit the CDN market and sell off its CDN assets, including these patents, to an entity that then immediately began asserting them, points to a strategic transfer to enable assertion.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/