Patent 7634409

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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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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Inventors

  • Robert A. Kennewick: Co-founder of VoiceBox Technologies.
  • Min Ke: Employer at time of filing not explicitly stated, but was an inventor for VoiceBox.
  • Michael Tjalve: Employer at time of filing not explicitly stated, but was an inventor for VoiceBox.
  • Philippe Di Cristo: Employer at time of filing not explicitly stated, but was an inventor for VoiceBox.

It is common for employment agreements to stipulate that inventions made during the course of employment are assigned to the employer.

Original assignee

VoiceBox Technologies Corp (later VoiceBox Technologies, Inc. and VoiceBox Technologies Corporation).
VoiceBox Technologies was a pioneer in speech recognition and natural language technologies, developing voice AI platforms for connected cars, homes, and IoT devices. Their products shipped in 23 languages across 3 continents, with major customers including Toyota and Samsung.
VoiceBox Technologies was acquired by Nuance Communications in May 2018 for an estimated $82-84 million. Its current status is "Acquired/Merged".

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Assignment Center search for US Patent 7634409 found the following records:

  • 2006-11-15 (executed) / recorded 2006-11-15 — Reel 018804/0748

    • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
    • Assignor: KENNEWICK, ROBERT A.; DI CRISTO, PHILIPPE; KE, MIN; TJALVE, MICHAEL
    • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Correspondent: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC., 15020 BELLEVUE-REDMOND RD NE, BELLEVUE, WA 98007
    • Context: Original assignment from inventors to the initial corporate entity. This is a standard practice where employees assign their inventions to their employer.

  • 2014-05-01 (executed) / recorded 2014-05-01 — Reel 031264/0046

    • Conveyance: Merger
    • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    • Correspondent: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, 10900 NE 4TH STREET, SUITE 1600, BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON 98004
    • Context: Internal corporate reorganization/change of name.

  • 2015-01-14 (executed) / recorded 2015-01-26 — Reel 032225/0827

    • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
    • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    • Assignee: NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    • Correspondent: NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC., 1 OAK PARK DRIVE, BEDFORD, MA 01730
    • Context: Acquisition of VoiceBox Technologies Corporation by Nuance Communications, Inc.

  • 2021-05-10 (executed) / recorded 2021-05-18 — Reel 058097/0936

    • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
    • Assignor: NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    • Assignee: VOICE INVENTIONS, LLC
    • Correspondent: MICHAEL J. FEGIN, ESQ., 10 POST OFFICE SQUARE, 8TH FLOOR SOUTH, BOSTON, MA 02109
    • Context: Transfer of patent from operating company (Nuance) to a new LLC, Voice Inventions, LLC.

  • 2022-08-16 (executed) / recorded 2022-08-19 — Reel 061730/0832

    • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
    • Assignor: VOICE INVENTIONS, LLC
    • Assignee: DIALECT, LLC
    • Correspondent: WILLIAM S. CARSWELL, 1000 SW BROADWAY, SUITE 1595, PORTLAND, OR 97205
    • Context: Transfer from Voice Inventions, LLC to Dialect, LLC. This indicates a further transfer between non-operating entities.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7634409
    2006 : Inventors assign to VoiceBox Technologies Inc
    2014 : VoiceBox Technologies Inc merges to VoiceBox Technologies Corp
    2015 : VoiceBox Technologies Corp assigns to Nuance Communications Inc
    2021 : Nuance Communications Inc assigns to Voice Inventions LLC
    2022 : Voice Inventions LLC assigns to Dialect LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.

    • 2021-05-10 (executed) / recorded 2021-05-18 (Reel 058097/0936): Nuance Communications, Inc., an operating company, transferred the patent to VOICE INVENTIONS, LLC. The name "Voice Inventions, LLC" with the "LLC" suffix suggests a licensing or holding entity.
    • 2022-08-16 (executed) / recorded 2022-08-19 (Reel 061730/0832): VOICE INVENTIONS, LLC transferred the patent to DIALECT, LLC. Similarly, "Dialect, LLC" with the "LLC" suffix strongly suggests a shell entity for patent assertion. Unified Patents explicitly identifies Dialect, LLC as an NPE. There is also no evidence of Dialect, LLC (the assignee of record) producing products related to speech recognition; the "Dialect" entities found in searches are primarily a creative agency or wine importer.

  2. Known asserter in the chain — Present.

    • Dialect, LLC is the current assignee. Unified Patents consistently identifies Dialect, LLC as an NPE. RPX also covers Dialect, LLC's litigation campaigns. Dialect, LLC has been involved in litigation asserting former Voicebox Technologies patents against companies like Amazon, Samsung, Alphabet (Google), Meta, and Microsoft, targeting voice AI products.

  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.

    • The correspondent for the 2021 transfer to Voice Inventions, LLC (Reel 058097/0936) is MICHAEL J. FEGIN, ESQ., 10 POST OFFICE SQUARE, 8TH FLOOR SOUTH, BOSTON, MA 02109.
    • The correspondent for the 2022 transfer to Dialect, LLC (Reel 061730/0832) is WILLIAM S. CARSWELL, 1000 SW BROADWAY, SUITE 1595, PORTLAND, OR 97205.
      While the same attorney is not present across these two specific NPE transfers, the correspondent for Voice Inventions, LLC, Michael J. Fegin, is known in patent prosecution for representing various entities. More importantly, the current assignee, Dialect LLC, is identified as a known NPE by Unified Patents and RPX.

  4. Cascading transfers — Present.

    • The patent was transferred from Nuance Communications, Inc. to Voice Inventions, LLC on 2021-05-10 (executed) / recorded 2021-05-18 (Reel 058097/0936).
    • Then, 15 months later, it was transferred from Voice Inventions, LLC to Dialect, LLC on 2022-08-16 (executed) / recorded 2022-08-19 (Reel 061730/0832). This represents two consecutive transfers between LLCs within a 24-month period, which is a strong indicator of cascading transfers characteristic of NPE activity.

  5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present.

    • The patent was assigned to Dialect, LLC on 2022-08-16 (executed). Dialect, LLC launched its litigation campaign asserting former Voicebox Technologies patents, including this one, in February 2023, with a suit against Samsung, followed by a case against Alphabet (Google) two months later, and then Amazon in May 2023. A case against Microsoft (2:24-cv-01067) was filed in December 2024. The initial litigation started approximately six months after the transfer to Dialect, LLC, aligning with a pre-litigation transfer pattern.

  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. Nuance Communications acquired Voicebox Technologies in 2018. There is no indication of Voicebox Technologies or Nuance Communications having filed for bankruptcy that led to this patent transfer.

  7. Privateering — Unclear. While Nuance Communications, an operating company, transferred the patent to an NPE (Voice Inventions, LLC, and subsequently Dialect, LLC), there is no explicit public evidence from SEC filings or news coverage confirming a privateering arrangement where Dialect, LLC asserts the patent on Nuance's behalf.

  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain terminates with Dialect, LLC, which is a known NPE.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. This verdict is supported by multiple strong signals. The patent was transferred from an operating company (Nuance Communications, Inc.) to shell entities (Voice Inventions, LLC and then Dialect, LLC) in consecutive transfers within 15 months (Reel 058097/0936 on 2021-05-10 and Reel 061730/0832 on 2022-08-16). The current assignee, Dialect, LLC, is widely identified as a known NPE by Unified Patents and RPX. Furthermore, the initial lawsuits asserting this patent were filed within six months of the transfer to Dialect, LLC, indicating a pre-litigation transfer strategy.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US7634409: https://assignment.uspto.gov/patent/index.html

Generated 5/20/2026, 6:46:42 PM