Assignment history

Inventors

• Tom Freeman: Employer not explicitly stated at the time of the original priority application filing (February 6, 2007). He was an assignor to Voicebox Technologies, Inc. on October 13, 2021.
• Mike Kennewick: Employer not explicitly stated at the time of the original priority application filing (February 6, 2007). He was an assignor to Voicebox Technologies, Inc. on October 13, 2021.

Both inventors assigned their interest to Voicebox Technologies, Inc., suggesting they were likely associated with Voicebox Technologies, Inc. at the time of the invention or filing of the earliest application in the chain (U.S. Pat. No. 7,818,176, which lists Voicebox Technologies, Inc. as the assignee).

Original assignee

The original operating company that developed the underlying technology and to which the inventors initially assigned their rights appears to be Voicebox Technologies, Inc. (later Voicebox Technologies Corporation). Voicebox Technologies, Inc. was known for developing natural language understanding and voice recognition software, a core component of the patent's claims.

Voicebox Technologies, Inc. was subsequently involved in a merger and then transferred rights to VB Assets LLC. VB Assets LLC, the entity that filed the application leading to US12236456, is identified as the "Original Assignee" on Google Patents for this specific patent. VB Assets LLC's primary line of business appears to be patent assertion, and they are currently active, as evidenced by ongoing litigation. It is not clear that VB Assets LLC shipped a product embodying the claims.

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Assignment Center (https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/) was searched for patent number 12236456. The search results corroborate the legal events listed on Google Patents.

• 2021-10-13 (executed) / recorded 2021-10-13 — Reel 059952/0466

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: FREEMAN, TOM; KENNEWICK, MIKE
  • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Correspondent: LINDEMAN, TERRY D. (TERRY D. LINDEMAN, PS, P.O. BOX 10606, BAINBRIDGE IS, WA 98110-0606). This correspondent will recur in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor rights to the original operating company.

• 2021-10-13 (executed) / recorded 2021-10-13 — Reel 059952/0469

  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: LINDEMAN, TERRY D. (TERRY D. LINDEMAN, PS, P.O. BOX 10606, BAINBRIDGE IS, WA 98110-0606). This correspondent will recur in this chain.
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization/name change of the operating company.

• 2021-10-13 (executed) / recorded 2021-10-13 — Reel 059952/0472

  • Conveyance: Nunc Pro Tunc Assignment
  • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
  • Assignee: VB ASSETS, LLC
  • Correspondent: LINDEMAN, TERRY D. (TERRY D. LINDEMAN, PS, P.O. BOX 10606, BAINBRIDGE IS, WA 98110-0606). This correspondent will recur in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from the operating company to a new entity, VB Assets, LLC.

• 2025-04-08 (executed) / recorded 2025-04-09 — Reel 065751/0867

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: VB ASSETS, LLC
  • Assignee: CONTINGENCY CAPITAL FUND A LP
  • Correspondent: HAHN, ERIC (Ropes & Gray LLP, PRUDENTIAL TOWER, 800 BOYLSTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02199-3600).
  • Context: VB Assets, LLC granted a security interest in the patent to Contingency Capital Fund A LP, likely for financing or litigation funding.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12236456
    2007 : Original application filed
    2021 : Inventors assign to Voicebox Inc
         : Voicebox Inc merges to Voicebox Corp
         : Voicebox Corp assigns to VB Assets LLC
    2025 : VB Assets grants security interest
    2026 : Litigation filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The transfer from Voicebox Technologies Corporation to VB Assets, LLC on 2021-10-13 (Reel 059952/0472) is a strong signal. Voicebox Technologies was an operating company. VB Assets, LLC, as identified in the litigation summary, is actively asserting patents and does not appear to ship products embodying the claims, fitting the profile of a licensing-only entity. The subsequent security interest granted to Contingency Capital Fund A LP (Reel 065751/0867) further supports this as a financing mechanism often used by NPEs.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. VB Assets, LLC is the current assignee and is identified in the "Litigation History" section as having filed suit against major technology companies (e.g., VB Assets, LLC v. Google LLC et al., Case Number: 1:2026cv00443). This aligns with the profile of a high-frequency plaintiff.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Terry D. Lindeman, PS (P.O. BOX 10606, BAINBRIDGE IS, WA 98110-0606) is listed as the correspondent for three consecutive assignments on 2021-10-13 (Reel 059952/0466, Reel 059952/0469, Reel 059952/0472). This consistent use of the same legal counsel across multiple transfers within a short period is a classic NPE pattern.
4. Cascading transfers — present. There were three consecutive assignments on the same day, October 13, 2021 (Reel 059952/0466, Reel 059952/0469, Reel 059952/0472), moving the patent rights from the inventors, through two Voicebox entities, and finally to VB Assets, LLC. This rapid chain of transfers, especially leading to a non-operating entity, is a strong indicator.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The transfer to VB Assets, LLC occurred on October 13, 2021 (Reel 059952/0472). The first infringement suit explicitly naming US12236456 was filed on April 17, 2026. While the transfer predates the suit, it's not within the typical "within 6 months" window, but rather several years prior. However, this transfer was critical in establishing VB Assets, LLC as the asserting entity.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication that Voicebox Technologies, Inc. or Corporation underwent bankruptcy proceedings leading to the transfer. The conveyance type from Voicebox Technologies Corporation to VB Assets, LLC was a "Nunc Pro Tunc Assignment" (Reel 059952/0472), not a bankruptcy sale.
7. Privateering — unclear. While VB Assets, LLC is asserting the patent, there is no explicit evidence (e.g., SEC filings, public reports) to suggest that Voicebox Technologies Corporation (or any other operating company) transferred the patent to VB Assets, LLC specifically to assert against its competitors on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator. Instead, it terminates (for ownership) at VB Assets, LLC, an asserting entity.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence.

The assignment chain for U.S. Patent 12,236,456 exhibits multiple strong signals indicative of patent assertion by a Non-Practicing Entity. These include the transfer from an operating company (Voicebox Technologies Corporation) to a shell entity (VB Assets, LLC) via a cascading series of assignments on October 13, 2021 (Reel 059952/0466, 0469, 0472), the consistent use of a repeat correspondent (Terry D. Lindeman) for these transfers, and the subsequent active litigation by VB Assets, LLC against major technology companies. The granting of a security interest further supports the financial structuring typical of patent monetization efforts.

Verification link: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html#/patent/search (search for patent number 12236456).