Patent 7173177

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 (9)

Asserters network →

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

  1. 2000-03-02 · recorded 2003-10-29 · reel 014659/0739 · Assignment

    CLARK, ALICE, GOULD, ERIC JUSTIN, MCCASKILL, DONALD, TRISNADI, PAULUS, WEST, NICKMONKEYMEDIA, INC.

    acquisition

  2. 2005-12-02 · recorded 2006-02-15 · reel 017564/0035 · Assignment

    MONKEYMEDIA, INC.BLUE DOLPHIN SOLUTIONS, LLC

    acquisition

  3. ? · recorded 2012-04-11 · Assignment

    BLUE DOLPHIN SOLUTIONS, LLCINTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLC

    transfer-to-asserter

  4. ? · recorded 2012-04-16 · Assignment

    INTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLCDIGIMEDIA HOLDINGS, LLC

    internal reorg

  5. ? · recorded 2012-04-16 · Assignment

    DIGIMEDIA HOLDINGS, LLCINTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLC

    internal reorg

  6. ? · recorded 2015-10-09 · Merger

    INTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLCXYLON LLC

    internal reorg

  7. ? · recorded 2018-12-18 · NUNC PRO TUNC ASSIGNMENT

    XYLON LLCINTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 125 LLC

    internal reorg

  8. ? · recorded 2019-02-06 · Assignment

    INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 120/125 LLCAVINNOV LLC

    transfer-to-asserter

  9. ? · recorded 2019-10-17 · Assignment

    AVINNOV LLCCEDAR LANE TECHNOLOGIES INC.

    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

The named inventors for US Patent 7173177 are Eric J. Gould, Nick West, Donald McCaskill, Alice Cark, and Paulus Trisnadi. At the time of the patent application's filing on October 29, 2003, their inventor rights were assigned to MONKEYMEDIA, INC. via an assignment with an effective date of March 2, 2000. [cite: Legal event 2003-10-29] MONKEYMEDIA, INC. subsequently assigned these rights to Blue Dolphin Solutions LLC, which was the applicant on record. [cite: Legal event 2006-02-15]

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent was Blue Dolphin Solutions LLC. The patent describes a user interface system for managing inventory and facilitating purchases across various categories like music, groceries, and vehicle maintenance. [cite: Abstract] While the patent details the functionality of such a system, it is unclear from the provided information whether Blue Dolphin Solutions LLC directly shipped a product embodying these claims. Their primary line of business, based on the patent, was likely the development and/or licensing of software for personalized inventory management and online purchasing interfaces. Blue Dolphin Solutions LLC subsequently transferred ownership of this patent in 2012 and is no longer the owner. [cite: Legal event 2012-04-11] Its current operating status beyond its historical patent ownership is not specified in the provided patent text.

Assignment timeline

  • 2003-10-29 (executed 2000-03-02) / recorded 2003-10-29 — Reel 014659/0739

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: CLARK, ALICE, GOULD, ERIC JUSTIN, MCCASKILL, DONALD, TRISNADI, PAULUS, WEST, NICK
    • Assignee: MONKEYMEDIA, INC.
    • Correspondent: Not specified in provided patent text.
    • Context: Transfer of inventor rights to an early corporate entity prior to the patent application filing.

  • 2006-02-15 (executed 2005-12-02) / recorded 2006-02-15 — Reel 017564/0035

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: MONKEYMEDIA, INC.
    • Assignee: BLUE DOLPHIN SOLUTIONS, LLC
    • Correspondent: Not specified in provided patent text.
    • Context: Transfer of rights from the initial corporate entity (Monkeymedia, Inc.) to the entity that filed the patent application (Blue Dolphin Solutions LLC).

  • 2012-04-11 (effective Not specified) / recorded 2012-04-11 — Reel Not specified in Google Patents legal events

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: BLUE DOLPHIN SOLUTIONS LLC
    • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLC
    • Correspondent: Not specified in provided patent text.
    • Context: Transfer of patent rights to a subsidiary of Intellectual Ventures, a known patent assertion entity.

  • 2012-04-16 (effective Not specified) / recorded 2012-04-16 — Reel Not specified in Google Patents legal events

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLC
    • Assignee: DIGIMEDIA HOLDINGS, LLC
    • Correspondent: Not specified in provided patent text.
    • Context: Transfer of rights from one Intellectual Ventures-related entity to another.

  • 2012-04-16 (effective Not specified) / recorded 2012-04-16 — Reel Not specified in Google Patents legal events

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: DIGIMEDIA HOLDINGS, LLC
    • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLC
    • Correspondent: Not specified in provided patent text.
    • Context: Reassignment of rights back to the previous Intellectual Ventures-related entity, likely an internal re-organization.

  • 2015-10-09 (effective Not specified) / recorded 2015-10-09 — Reel Not specified in Google Patents legal events

    • Conveyance: Merger
    • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLC
    • Assignee: XYLON LLC
    • Correspondent: Not specified in provided patent text.
    • Context: Transfer of rights to Xylon LLC, an entity associated with Intellectual Ventures.

  • 2018-12-18 (effective Not specified) / recorded 2018-12-18 — Reel Not specified in Google Patents legal events

    • Conveyance: NUNC PRO TUNC ASSIGNMENT
    • Assignor: XYLON LLC
    • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 125 LLC
    • Correspondent: Not specified in provided patent text.
    • Context: Corrective assignment to another Intellectual Ventures assets entity.

  • 2019-02-06 (effective Not specified) / recorded 2019-02-06 — Reel Not specified in Google Patents legal events

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 120/125 LLC
    • Assignee: AVINNOV LLC
    • Correspondent: Not specified in provided patent text.
    • Context: Transfer of rights to a licensing entity.

  • 2019-10-17 (effective Not specified) / recorded 2019-10-17 — Reel Not specified in Google Patents legal events

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: AVINNOV LLC
    • Assignee: CEDAR LANE TECHNOLOGIES INC.
    • Correspondent: Not specified in provided patent text.
    • Context: Transfer of rights to the current assignee, another licensing entity, shortly before or coinciding with litigation.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7173177
    2003 : Inventors assign to MonkeyMedia
    2006 : MonkeyMedia to Blue Dolphin Solutions LLC
    2007 : Patent granted
    2012 : Blue Dolphin to IV Audio Innovations
         : IV Audio to Digimedia Holdings
         : Digimedia Holdings to IV Audio Innovations
    2015 : IV Audio to Xylon LLC (Merger)
    2018 : Xylon to IV Assets 125 LLC
    2019 : IV Assets 120/125 to Avinnov LLC
         : Avinnov LLC to Cedar Lane Tech
    2020 : Patent expired

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The assignment chain includes transfers to and from entities with names suggestive of holding or licensing functions, such as INTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLC [cite: Legal event 2012-04-11], DIGIMEDIA HOLDINGS, LLC [cite: Legal event 2012-04-16], XYLON LLC [cite: Legal event 2015-10-09], INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 125 LLC [cite: Legal event 2018-12-18], AVINNOV LLC [cite: Legal event 2019-02-06], and CEDAR LANE TECHNOLOGIES INC. [cite: Legal event 2019-10-17]. These entities appear to be part of a structured transfer for patent management rather than product development.

  2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Intellectual Ventures, a prominent patent assertion entity, is explicitly identified in the chain through its subsidiaries: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLC [cite: Legal event 2012-04-11] and INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 125 LLC [cite: Legal event 2018-12-18]. XYLON LLC [cite: Legal event 2015-10-09] is also widely associated with Intellectual Ventures.

  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. The provided patent text does not include correspondent attorney names or firms for any of the recorded assignment events, preventing an assessment of recurrence.

  4. Cascading transfers — Present. There are multiple instances of rapid transfers within short periods. For example, in 2012, there were three assignments within five days (April 11th and two on April 16th) involving Blue Dolphin Solutions LLC, INTELLECTUAL VENTURES AUDIO INNOVATIONS LLC, and DIGIMEDIA HOLDINGS, LLC. [cite: Legal event 2012-04-11, Legal event 2012-04-16] In 2019, transfers occurred from INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 120/125 LLC to AVINNOV LLC (February 6, 2019) and then to CEDAR LANE TECHNOLOGIES INC. (October 17, 2019) within an eight-month span. [cite: Legal event 2019-02-06, Legal event 2019-10-17]

  5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The patent family became involved in litigation in 2019 and 2020. [cite: US case filed in Texas Eastern District Court, litigation 2019-02-06] The assignments to AVINNOV LLC (February 6, 2019) [cite: Legal event 2019-02-06] and CEDAR LANE TECHNOLOGIES INC. (October 17, 2019) [cite: Legal event 2019-10-17] occurred immediately prior to or concurrent with the initiation of these lawsuits.

  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no information in the provided patent text to suggest that any of the assignors or assignees underwent bankruptcy proceedings leading to the patent transfer.

  7. Privateering — Unclear. The provided information does not contain details about any strategic agreements between operating companies and NPEs for assertion purposes.

  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The final assignee, Cedar Lane Technologies Inc., is not identified as a defensive aggregator such as RPX or AST.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The assignment chain demonstrates strong indicators of patent assertion activity. This includes transfers to and between known Intellectual Ventures subsidiaries starting in 2012 [cite: Legal event 2012-04-11, Legal event 2015-10-09, Legal event 2018-12-18], multiple instances of cascading transfers within short periods [cite: Legal event 2012-04-11, Legal event 2012-04-16, Legal event 2019-02-06, Legal event 2019-10-17], and assignments closely preceding the initiation of patent litigation in 2019 [cite: Legal event 2019-02-06, Legal event 2019-10-17]. This pattern is consistent with a patent being acquired and managed for licensing and assertion purposes rather than supporting a product line.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search for US7173177: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

Generated 5/29/2026, 6:48:29 PM