Patent 11244675

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Ownership chain (2)

Asserters network →

Structured records extracted from the assignment-history narrative below. Each entity links to its full ownership-network profile.

  1. 2019-03-07 · reel 048740/0173 · Assignment

    NAGANUMA, TATSUMIJVC Kenwood Corporation

    Correspondent: Jeffrey S. Williams · J. S. Williams & Associates

    Internal transfer from inventor to corporate assignee at filing

  2. 2024-06-25 · reel 063670/0411 · Assignment

    JVC Kenwood CorporationSOUNDCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES LLC

    Correspondent: Eric L. Sophir · Winston & Strawn

    Transfer-to-asserter

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

✓ Generated

Inventors

  • Tatsumi NAGANUMA (JVCKenwood Corp)

No unusual patterns observed regarding inventor departure.

Original assignee

JVCKenwood Corp. JVCKenwood is a global manufacturer of electronics and entertainment products, including car electronics, professional systems, and home audio. It is unclear from the patent text whether they shipped a product directly embodying the claims, but their primary line of business involves devices that could incorporate such technology (e.g., smart speakers, car audio systems). JVCKenwood Corp is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

  • 2019-03-07 (executed) / recorded 2019-03-07 — Reel 048740/0173

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: NAGANUMA, TATSUMI
    • Assignee: JVC Kenwood Corporation
    • Correspondent: Jeffrey S. Williams, J. S. Williams & Associates, P.C., 5550 Glenridge Connector, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30342.
    • Context: Internal transfer from inventor to corporate assignee at filing.

  • 2024-06-25 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-25 — Reel 063670/0411

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: JVC Kenwood Corporation
    • Assignee: Soundclear Technologies LLC
    • Correspondent: Eric L. Sophir, Winston & Strawn LLP, 1900 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006.
    • Context: Transfer-to-asserter.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 112444675
    2019 : Filed by JVCKenwood Corp
    2022 : Issued
    2024 : Assigned to Soundclear Technologies LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The assignment from JVC Kenwood Corporation to Soundclear Technologies LLC (reel 063670/0411, executed 2024-06-25) indicates a transfer to an entity whose name ("Technologies LLC") suggests a non-operating, licensing-focused entity. Unified Patents lists Soundclear Technologies LLC as an NPE.

  2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Soundclear Technologies LLC is listed as an NPE by Unified Patents.

  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. The correspondent for the first assignment (Jeffrey S. Williams) is different from the correspondent for the second assignment (Eric L. Sophir). No recurrence is observed.

  4. Cascading transfers — not present. Only two assignments are recorded, with over five years between the filing date and the first recorded post-issuance assignment, and approximately two years between the filing date and the transfer to Soundclear Technologies.

  5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. Google Patents shows multiple litigation cases filed in late 2024 and 2025. The assignment to Soundclear Technologies LLC was executed and recorded on 2024-06-25 (reel 063670/0411). Without precise dates for the first infringement suit, it is unclear if this transfer falls within 6 months prior.

  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. JVC Kenwood Corporation remains an active operating company.

  7. Privateering — unclear. While the transfer is to an NPE, there is no public information (e.g., SEC filings or specific industry reporting) available in the provided text or search results to definitively confirm privateering.

  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent was assigned to Soundclear Technologies LLC, an NPE.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The transfer from JVC Kenwood Corporation, an operating company, to Soundclear Technologies LLC (reel 063670/0411, executed 2024-06-25), a known NPE as identified by Unified Patents, is a strong signal. The assignee's name also suggests a shell entity.

Verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

Generated 5/26/2026, 6:46:25 AM