Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor for US Patent 7,610,277 is Colin Brady. At the time of filing, Colin Brady was an employee of Yahoo! Inc., as evidenced by the assignment of the inventor's interest to Yahoo! Inc. prior to the patent's filing date. There are no unusual patterns, such as all inventors departing the original assignee shortly after filing.

Original Assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent was Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Inc. was a major internet services company that shipped numerous products embodying web browsing and search functionalities, including its namesake search engine and various integrated browser components. Its primary line of business was internet media, advertising, and content services. Yahoo! Inc. was acquired by Verizon in 2017, and parts of its business were later spun off. The entity listed as "Altaba Inc." on Google Patents was the remaining investment company after the core internet business was sold, which subsequently liquidated.

Assignment Timeline

Here is a chronological list of every recorded assignment for US Patent 7,610,277, sourced from the USPTO Assignment Center:

• 2007-03-14 (executed) / recorded 2007-03-29 — Reel 019087/0587

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Brady, Colin
  • Assignee: YAHOO! INC.
  • Correspondent: Michael B. Stewart, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P., 901 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001-4413.
  • Context: Original assignment from the inventor to his employer.

• 2016-04-18 (executed) / recorded 2016-04-18 — Reel 038383/0466

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Yahoo! Inc.
  • Assignee: Excalibur IP, LLC
  • Correspondent: Jennifer L. Roscetti, Yahoo! Inc., 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.
  • Context: Transfer of patent assets from an operating company to a patent monetization entity.

• 2016-05-31 (executed) / recorded 2016-06-01 — Reel 038951/0295

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Excalibur IP, LLC
  • Assignee: Yahoo! Inc.
  • Correspondent: Jennifer L. Roscetti, Yahoo! Inc., 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. This correspondent also appears on Reel 038383/0466 and Reel 038950/0592.
  • Context: Reassignment of patent assets from Excalibur IP, LLC back to Yahoo! Inc., likely a temporary measure or part of a larger asset reshuffle.

• 2016-05-31 (executed) / recorded 2016-06-03 — Reel 038950/0592

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Yahoo! Inc.
  • Assignee: Excalibur IP, LLC
  • Correspondent: Jennifer L. Roscetti, Yahoo! Inc., 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. This correspondent also appears on Reel 038383/0466 and Reel 038951/0295.
  • Context: Reassignment of patent assets from Yahoo! Inc. back to Excalibur IP, LLC, finalizing the transfer to the patent monetization entity.

• 2020-06-04 (executed) / recorded 2020-06-05 — Reel 052853/0153

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: Acacia Research Group LLC, American Vehicular Sciences LLC, Bonutti Skeletal Innovations LLC, Cellular Communications Equipment LLC, Innovative Display Technologies LLC, Lifeport Sciences LLC, Limestone Memory Systems LLC, Merton Acquisition Holdco LLC, Mobile Enhancement Solutions LLC, Monarch Networking Solutions LLC, Nexus Display Technologies LLC, Parthenon Unified Memory Architecture LLC, R2 Solutions LLC, Saint Lawrence Communications LLC, Stingray IP Solutions LLC, Super Interconnect Technologies LLC, Teleconference Systems LLC, Unification Technologies LLC
  • Assignee: Starboard Value Intermediate Fund LP, as Collateral Agent
  • Correspondent: Bryan R. Wallace, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, 202 S. Meridian Street, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46225. This correspondent also appears on Reel 056832/0001, Reel 054981/0377, and Reel 053654/0254.
  • Context: Securitization of a large patent portfolio by a group of patent assertion entities (PAEs), including known NPEs, to a collateral agent for financing.

• 2020-04-28 (executed) / recorded 2020-06-25 — Reel 053459/0059

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Excalibur IP, LLC
  • Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC
  • Correspondent: John O. Murabito, R2 Solutions LLC, P.O. Box 720330, Dallas, TX 75372-0330.
  • Context: Transfer of patent assets from Excalibur IP, LLC to R2 Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of Acacia Research Group LLC.

• 2020-06-30 (executed) / recorded 2020-07-08 — Reel 053654/0254

  • Conveyance: Release
  • Assignor: Starboard Value Intermediate Fund LP
  • Assignee: Bonutti Skeletal Innovations LLC, Cellular Communications Equipment LLC, Innovative Display Technologies LLC, Lifeport Sciences LLC, Limestone Memory Systems LLC, Mobile Enhancement Solutions LLC, Monarch Networking Solutions LLC, Nexus Display Technologies LLC, Parthenon Unified Memory Architecture LLC, R2 Solutions LLC, Saint Lawrence Communications LLC, Stingray IP Solutions LLC, Super Interconnect Technologies LLC, Teleconference Systems LLC, Unification Technologies LLC, Acacia Research Group LLC, American Vehicular Sciences LLC, Merton Acquisition Holdco LLC
  • Correspondent: Bryan R. Wallace, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, 202 S. Meridian Street, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46225. This correspondent also appears on Reel 056832/0001, Reel 054981/0377, and Reel 052853/0153.
  • Context: Release of security interest by Starboard Value for a group of NPEs, indicating a partial or full satisfaction of the security agreement.

• 2020-06-30 (executed) / recorded 2020-12-30 — Reel 054981/0377

  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: Starboard Value Intermediate Fund LP
  • Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC
  • Correspondent: Bryan R. Wallace, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, 202 S. Meridian Street, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46225. This correspondent also appears on Reel 056832/0001, Reel 053654/0254, and Reel 052853/0153.
  • Context: Corrective assignment clarifying the ownership of R2 Solutions LLC following the security interest arrangements.

• 2020-06-04 (executed) / recorded 2021-03-29 — Reel 056832/0001

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: R2 Solutions LLC
  • Assignee: Starboard Value Intermediate Fund LP, as Collateral Agent
  • Correspondent: Bryan R. Wallace, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, 202 S. Meridian Street, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46225. This correspondent also appears on Reel 054981/0377, Reel 053654/0254, and Reel 052853/0153.
  • Context: Corrective assignment where R2 Solutions LLC assigned its interest to Starboard Value as collateral agent, likely in further refinement of the earlier security agreement.

Timeline Diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7610277
    2007 : Inventor assigns to Yahoo! Inc.
    2009 : Patent issued
    2016 : Yahoo! to Excalibur IP, LLC
         : Excalibur to Yahoo! Inc.
         : Yahoo! to Excalibur IP, LLC
    2020 : Multiple NPEs to Starboard Value (Sec Agmt)
         : Excalibur to R2 Solutions LLC
         : Starboard Value releases interests
         : Starboard Value to R2 Solutions (Corrective)
    2021 : R2 Solutions to Starboard Value (Corrective)

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Present. Excalibur IP, LLC, R2 Solutions LLC, and Acacia Research Group LLC are all entities that operate as patent monetization vehicles, often without product lines, and were involved in the chain of ownership.
2. Known asserter in the chain: Present. Acacia Research Group LLC is a well-known and prolific NPE. R2 Solutions LLC is a subsidiary of Acacia Research Group LLC. Excalibur IP, LLC was formed by Yahoo! for patent monetization and was later acquired by Acacia Research Group.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Present. Bryan R. Wallace of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP appears as the correspondent for multiple transactions involving Starboard Value, R2 Solutions LLC, and Acacia Research Group LLC (Reel 052853/0153, Reel 053654/0254, Reel 054981/0377, Reel 056832/0001). This firm and attorney are known to represent NPEs in patent asset transactions.
4. Cascading transfers: Present. Multiple assignments and corrective transfers occurred within short periods, particularly between Yahoo! Inc. and Excalibur IP, LLC in 2016 (Reel 038383/0466, Reel 038951/0295, Reel 038950/0592) and among Starboard Value, R2 Solutions LLC, and Acacia Research Group LLC in 2020-2021 (Reel 052853/0153, Reel 053459/0059, Reel 053654/0254, Reel 054981/0377, Reel 056832/0001). These indicate rapid and complex restructuring of ownership, characteristic of patent portfolio management by NPEs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer: Unclear. Without access to specific litigation filing dates, it is not possible to determine if any assignments occurred within six months prior to the first infringement suit.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present. Yahoo! Inc. was acquired, not subject to bankruptcy proceedings that led to a fire-sale of its patent assets.
7. Privateering: Unclear. While Yahoo! Inc. did transfer its patents to Excalibur IP, LLC for monetization, explicit evidence of Yahoo! funding assertions against its competitors post-transfer (which defines privateering) is not present in the assignment records.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present. The chain involves entities primarily engaged in patent assertion, not defensive aggregation.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The assignment chain for US Patent 7,610,277 exhibits strong indicators of NPE activity. Specifically, the patent was transferred from Yahoo! Inc. to Excalibur IP, LLC, a known patent monetization entity, and subsequently to R2 Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of the prominent NPE Acacia Research Group LLC. The complex security agreement involving Starboard Value Intermediate Fund LP as collateral agent, with numerous NPEs as assignors (Reel 052853/0153, recorded 2020-06-05), further solidifies this assessment. The consistent use of the same correspondent, Bryan R. Wallace, across multiple post-Yahoo transfers also points to a coordinated patent assertion strategy.

For verification of these records, please refer to the USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/7610277.