Assignment history

Inventors

• Taichi Majima: Employed by Kenwood KK at the time of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Kenwood KK.
Kenwood KK (later Kenwood Corporation, then JVC Kenwood Corporation) is a multinational electronics company known for manufacturing audio equipment, car navigation systems, and radio communication products. The patent text describes a "voice transmitting and receiving system" which aligns with Kenwood's product lines in communication systems, particularly wireless communication.
Kenwood Corporation merged with JVC to form JVC Kenwood Corporation in 2008, and the combined entity is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2006-09-29 (executed) / recorded 2006-10-27 — Reel 018861/0092
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: MAJIMA, TAICHI
  • Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA KENWOOD
  • Correspondent: SUZUKI, KAZUYA; KENWOOD CORPORATION, SHIBUYA-KU, TOKYO, JAPAN.
  • Context: Internal transfer of inventor's rights to the corporate entity.
• 2012-04-01 (executed) / recorded 2012-04-12 — Reel 027988/0461
  • Conveyance: MERGER
  • Assignor: KENWOOD CORPORATION
  • Assignee: JVC KENWOOD CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: KUDO, YOSHIHIRO; JVC KENWOOD CORPORATION, YOKOHAMA-SHI, KANAGAWA-KEN, JAPAN.
  • Context: Corporate restructuring and name change following a merger.
• 2022-03-24 (executed) / recorded 2022-03-29 — Reel 055848/0524
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: JVCKENWOOD CORPORATION
  • Assignee: ADVANCED CODING TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: REED, LYLE S; THE REED LAW FIRM, P.L.L.C., HOUSTON, TX, USA. This correspondent, Lyle S. Reed of The Reed Law Firm, has appeared as a correspondent on other tracked patents associated with patent assertion entities.
  • Context: Transfer of patent ownership from an operating company to a new entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7804891
    2005 : Filed by Kenwood KK
    2006 : Inventor assigned to Kenwood
    2010 : Issued to Kenwood
    2012 : Merger to JVC Kenwood Corp
    2022 : Assigned to Advanced Coding Technologies LLC
    2024 : US litigation filed in TX Eastern
    2025 : US litigation filed in TX Northern, Western

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The transfer from JVCKENWOOD CORPORATION (an operating company) to ADVANCED CODING TECHNOLOGIES LLC in 2022-03-24 (executed) / 2022-03-29 (recorded) via Reel 055848/0524. The assignee name "Advanced Coding Technologies LLC" with "LLC" suffix, coupled with subsequent litigation activities in common NPE venues, suggests a licensing-focused entity rather than an operating company producing products.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. While "Advanced Coding Technologies LLC" is not explicitly on the general list provided, the extensive and recent litigation activity in Texas District Courts (Texas Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts) and PTAB challenges (IPR2025-01221, IPR2025-01161), as noted in the Google Patents "Family has litigation" section, are strong indicators that Advanced Coding Technologies LLC is an active patent asserter, consistent with an NPE profile.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Lyle S. Reed of The Reed Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Houston, TX, USA, is listed as the correspondent for the 2022-03-24 / 2022-03-29 assignment to Advanced Coding Technologies LLC (Reel 055848/0524). This correspondent and firm are recognized as frequently handling assignments for patent assertion entities.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There is a single transfer from JVC Kenwood to Advanced Coding Technologies LLC, not multiple consecutive transfers within a short period.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment to Advanced Coding Technologies LLC was executed on 2022-03-24 and recorded on 2022-03-29 (Reel 055848/0524). The litigation listed in Google Patents, such as "US case filed in Texas Eastern District Court" in 2024 and "US case filed in Texas Northern District Court" and "US case filed in Texas Western District Court" in 2025, commenced relatively soon after the assignment, suggesting the transfer was in preparation for assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The assignment from JVCKENWOOD CORPORATION was a direct assignment, not a sale through bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no public information provided in the patent text or search results that indicates JVCKENWOOD CORPORATION transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf against competitors.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain terminates with Advanced Coding Technologies LLC, which, based on the litigation patterns, appears to be an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is justified by several strong signals. The patent was transferred from an operating company (JVCKENWOOD CORPORATION) to an entity with an LLC suffix (ADVANCED CODING TECHNOLOGIES LLC) in 2022-03-24 / 2022-03-29 (Reel 055848/0524). This transfer was followed by multiple infringement suits filed in known NPE-favorable venues (Texas Eastern, Northern, and Western District Courts) starting in 2024 and 2025, indicating a pre-litigation transfer pattern. Furthermore, the correspondent for the transfer to Advanced Coding Technologies LLC, Lyle S. Reed of The Reed Law Firm, is associated with handling assignments for patent assertion entities.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search for US7804891.