Assignment history

Inventors

• Robert Osann, Jr. (Employer at time of filing: Individual)

Original assignee

The original assignee, as listed on the patent, is "Individual". However, the patent lists Accusearch Technologies LLC as the "Current Assignee" as of 2024-03-18. Accusearch Technologies LLC's primary line of business appears to be public records research, background screening services, and related compliance solutions, particularly in Arizona and Nevada. They offer products like AccuMatch, AccuVerify, AccuInsight, and Statewide Search. They also developed an automated court research platform called A-Team. There is also mention of "Accusearch" in the context of video surveillance systems, allowing searching of recorded video content based on metadata, though it is unclear if this is the same entity. Accusearch Technologies LLC is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2024-02-24 (executed) / recorded 2024-03-18 (Google Patents) — Reel 063691/0530 (USPTO Assignment Center)
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: OSANN, ROBERT, JR.
  • Assignee: ACCUSEARCH TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: BRENT W. LABARGE, ESQ., 1415 FOLSOM STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, 94103. This correspondent has handled multiple recordings related to this patent family.
  • Context: Transfer to asserter

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11971937
    2011 : Filed by Robert Osann Jr.
    2024 : Issued
    2024 : Assigned to Accusearch Technologies LLC
    2025 : First infringement suit filed
    2026 : IPR filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The assignment is from an individual inventor to Accusearch Technologies LLC, which, despite having an operating business in public records research, has recently filed litigation asserting this patent family against Google, targeting search engine products and services. This suggests the LLC may be acting as a licensing-only entity for this specific patent portfolio, separate from its core public records business. The name "Accusearch Technologies LLC" itself doesn't explicitly denote a shell entity, but the timing of the assignment followed by litigation is a strong indicator.

2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Accusearch Technologies LLC has been identified by RPX as having filed its first litigation against Google in May 2025, asserting patents from a portfolio received from Robert Osann, Jr. This establishes Accusearch Technologies LLC as an active patent asserter. Furthermore, Unified Patents lists an IPR case (IPR2026-00289) filed against AccuSearch Technologies LLC.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. BRENT W. LABARGE, ESQ., of 1415 FOLSOM STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, 94103, is listed as the correspondent for the assignment from Robert Osann, Jr. to Accusearch Technologies LLC (Reel 063691/0530). This same correspondent has handled multiple recordings for this patent family as indicated by Google Patents.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. Only one assignment from the inventor to Accusearch Technologies LLC is clearly recorded.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The patent was assigned to Accusearch Technologies LLC on an execution date of 2024-02-24 and recorded on 2024-03-18. Accusearch Technologies LLC filed its first litigation against Google on April 29, 2025. This indicates the assignment occurred roughly 14 months before the first infringement suit, which is outside the typical 6-month window for a "pre-litigation transfer" signal, but still relatively close.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of the original assignee or inventor filing for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — unclear. While the transfer is from an individual to an asserting entity, there is no public information definitively stating that the individual inventor (or any prior operating company if one existed) is using Accusearch Technologies LLC to assert on their behalf against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with Accusearch Technologies LLC, which is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence The assignment from individual inventor Robert Osann, Jr. to Accusearch Technologies LLC (Reel 063691/0530, recorded 2024-03-18) is a strong signal. This transfer was followed by Accusearch Technologies LLC initiating litigation against Google in April 2025, asserting this patent family, and Unified Patents identifying AccuSearch Technologies LLC as a patent owner in an IPR case. The correspondent, Brent W. LaBarge, Esq., appears to be a repeat player in handling assignments for this patent family.

Verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html