Assignment history

Inventors

• Ivan Vladimirovich Naletov: DivX LLC (presumed, as DivX LLC is the original assignee and no other employer is listed).
• Sergey Zurpal: DivX LLC (presumed, as DivX LLC is the original assignee and no other employer is listed).

No unusual patterns, such as all inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing, are immediately determinable from the provided information.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent is Divx LLC.

DivX LLC's primary line of business traditionally involved video compression technologies and software for playing DivX-encoded video. The company developed a popular video codec and associated playback software.

Based on public information, DivX LLC has undergone several changes in ownership and structure over the years, but as of the current date, it appears to continue operating, primarily through licensing and intellectual property management.

Assignment timeline

• 2019-08-28 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-28 — Reel 004869/0323

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Ivan Vladimirovich Naletov
  • Assignee: SONIC IP, INC.
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey B. Sladkus, ESQ., 1850 NW 112th AVE, UNIT 121, MIAMI, FLORIDA, 33172
  • Context: Transfer of inventor's interest to an intermediate entity.

• 2019-08-28 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-28 — Reel 004869/0323

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Sergey Zurpal
  • Assignee: SONIC IP, INC.
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey B. Sladkus, ESQ., 1850 NW 112th AVE, UNIT 121, MIAMI, FLORIDA, 33172
  • Context: Transfer of inventor's interest to an intermediate entity.

• 2019-08-28 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-28 — Reel 004869/0324

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: SONIC IP, INC.
  • Assignee: DIVX CF HOLDINGS LLC
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey B. Sladkus, ESQ., 1850 NW 112th AVE, UNIT 121, MIAMI, FLORIDA, 33172. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer to a holding company, likely an internal reorg.

• 2019-08-28 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-28 — Reel 004869/0325

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: DIVX CF HOLDINGS LLC
  • Assignee: DIVX, LLC
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey B. Sladkus, ESQ., 1850 NW 112th AVE, UNIT 121, MIAMI, FLORIDA, 33172. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Change of name for the assignee back to Divx, LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10715806
    2019 : Inventors assigned to SONIC IP, INC.
         : SONIC IP assigned to DIVX CF HOLDINGS LLC
         : DIVX CF HOLDINGS LLC changed name to DIVX LLC
    2020 : Issued to Divx LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The transfer from individual inventors to SONIC IP, INC. (Reel 004869/0323) followed by a transfer to DIVX CF HOLDINGS LLC (Reel 004869/0324) and then a change of name to DIVX, LLC (Reel 004869/0325), all on the same day, suggests a structured transfer, potentially involving shell entities for IP management. While DivX LLC is an operating company, the intermediate holding company structure and immediate re-assignment/name change are common in NPE setups.

2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear. DivX has been involved in patent licensing and assertions, but the specific entities (SONIC IP, INC., DIVX CF HOLDINGS LLC) are not on the provided general list of high-frequency NPEs. DivX itself is known for extensive IP monetization.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Jeffrey B. Sladkus, ESQ., appears as the correspondent for all four recorded assignments (Reel 004869/0323, 004869/0324, 004869/0325). This is a strong signal of a single legal counsel managing multiple transfers, consistent with NPE patterns.

4. Cascading transfers — present. Three assignments and one change of name occurred on the same day (2019-08-28) involving SONIC IP, INC., DIVX CF HOLDINGS LLC, and DIVX, LLC (Reel 004869/0323, 004869/0324, 004869/0325). This rapid, sequential transfer within a very short timeframe is a strong indicator of a pre-planned IP restructuring, often associated with NPE activities or strategic IP management.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. While the patent family has litigation, the specific timing of these assignments in relation to the first infringement suit naming this specific patent (US10715806B2) is not definitively established from the provided snippets to be within a 6-month window. The patent issued on July 14, 2020, and the assignments were in August 2019, so it is possible, but without specific litigation filing dates for this patent, it remains unclear.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. The context of the assignments does not indicate a bankruptcy proceeding.

7. Privateering — unclear. While DivX is a technology company with products, its extensive licensing and assertion history make it difficult to definitively classify as "privateering" without more specific information on its assertion strategies against competitors in relation to this patent.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at any known defensive aggregators.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The presence of multiple strong signals, including shell-entity transfers, a repeat correspondent across the entire chain of assignments on the same day, and cascading transfers, strongly indicates an NPE pattern. Jeffrey B. Sladkus acted as correspondent for all transactions on Reel 004869/0323, 004869/0324, and 004869/0325, overseeing the transfers through intermediate holding companies back to DivX LLC. This orchestrated set of transfers is characteristic of entities focused on strategic IP monetization and assertion.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ (search for patent number 10715806).