Assignment history

Inventors

• Yu-Han Chang: At the time of the initial patent application, Chang was a co-founder and the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Second Spectrum, Inc.
• Tracey Chui Ping Ho: At the time of the initial patent application, Ho was a Senior Research Scientist at Second Spectrum, Inc.
• Rajiv Tharmeswaran Maheswaran: At the time of the initial patent application, Maheswaran was a co-founder and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Second Spectrum, Inc.

There are no unusual patterns. The inventors were the core leadership and technical team of the original assignee, Second Spectrum, Inc., which developed and commercialized the technology.

Original Assignee

Second Spectrum, Inc. was a sports data and technology company known for its advanced player-tracking and data visualization systems, which it sold to major sports leagues like the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the English Premier League. The company's products directly embodied the inventions described in this patent, which cover methods for analyzing and augmenting video content with spatiotemporal data. In May 2021, Second Spectrum was acquired by Genius Sports Group.

Assignment Timeline

• 2020-12-09 (executed) / recorded 2020-12-10 — Reel 57077/0279

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Yu-Han Chang, Tracey Chui Ping Ho, Rajiv Tharmeswaran Maheswaran (Inventors)
  • Assignee: Second Spectrum, Inc.
  • Correspondent: Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP, 2040 Main Street, Fourteenth Floor, Irvine, CA 92614
  • Context: Routine assignment of invention from employees to their employer, recorded a day after filing.

• 2021-07-27 (executed) / recorded 2023-01-23 — Reel 59529/0324

  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: Second Spectrum, Inc.
  • Assignee: GENIUS SPORTS SS, LLC
  • Correspondent: Charles Calkins, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, 1100 Peachtree Street, Suite 2800, Atlanta, GA 30309-4530
  • Context: Transfer of assets, including this patent, as part of the merger of Second Spectrum, Inc. into a subsidiary of its new parent company, Genius Sports.

• 2024-04-26 (executed) / recorded 2024-05-01 — Reel 61927/0593

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: GENIUS SPORTS SS, LLC
  • Assignee: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Correspondent: Charles Calkins, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, 1100 Peachtree Street, Suite 2800, Atlanta, GA 30309-4530
  • Context: The patent, along with other intellectual property, was pledged as collateral to Citibank, a common practice in corporate financing agreements. This is not a transfer of title.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11120271
    2020 : Filed by inventors
         : Assigned to Second Spectrum Inc
    2021 : Issued to Second Spectrum Inc
         : Second Spectrum merges with Genius Sports
    2023 : Merger recorded at USPTO
    2024 : Pledged as collateral to Citibank

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Not Present. The initial assignment was to the operating company Second Spectrum, Inc. The subsequent transfer was to GENIUS SPORTS SS, LLC, a subsidiary of Genius Sports Group, also a major operating company in the sports data industry, as part of a recorded merger (Reel 59529/0324).
2. Known asserter in the chain: Not Present. Neither Second Spectrum, Inc., Genius Sports SS, LLC, nor Citibank, N.A. are known NPEs or frequent patent asserters.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Not Present. While Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP is the correspondent for two transactions (Reels 59529/0324 and 61927/0593), this represents the ongoing relationship between a large corporation (Genius Sports) and its outside counsel. This pattern does not indicate NPE activity.
4. Cascading transfers: Not Present. The transfers are separated by years and reflect a standard corporate acquisition and subsequent financing.
5. Pre-litigation transfer: Not Present. A search of court dockets shows no litigation involving this patent.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not Present.
7. Privateering: Not Present. The acquirer, Genius Sports, is a direct operator in the same technology space as Second Spectrum.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not Present.

Verdict

• Insufficient data

The assignment history is straightforward and reflects a typical patent lifecycle within an operating company that was later acquired. The assignor (Second Spectrum) and current owner (Genius Sports SS, LLC) are both operating companies that commercialize the patented technology. The security agreement with Citibank is a standard financial transaction and does not indicate a transfer for assertion purposes. No signals associated with NPE or patent troll activity are present.

Verification Link: USPTO Patent Assignment Search for Pat. No. 11,120,271