Assignment history

Inventors

• Tom Freeman: VoiceBox Technologies, Inc.
• Mike Kennewick: VoiceBox Technologies, Inc.

No unusual patterns were observed regarding the inventors' departure from the original assignee.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is VoiceBox Technologies, Inc. VoiceBox Technologies was primarily in the business of developing and licensing natural language understanding and speech recognition software, particularly for embedded devices and automotive applications. The company was acquired by Nuance Communications, Inc. in 2020.

Assignment timeline

• 2007-04-20 (executed) / recorded 2007-04-20 — Reel 019313/0388

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Tom Freeman and Mike Kennewick
  • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Correspondent: KEVIN W. NORRIS, FOLEY & LARDNER LLP, 1530 PAGE MILL ROAD, PALO ALTO, CA 94304
  • Context: Original assignment from inventors to the filing company.

• 2014-04-07 (executed) / recorded 2014-04-10 — Reel 032231/0724

  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: KEVIN W. NORRIS, FOLEY & LARDNER LLP, 975 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization/change of name.

• 2017-12-22 (executed) / recorded 2018-01-09 — Reel 041300/0173

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
  • Assignee: ORIX GROWTH CAPITAL, LLC
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey B. Johnson, HAYNES AND BOONE, LLP, 2323 Victory Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, TX 75219
  • Context: Grant of a security interest, likely in connection with a loan or financing.

• 2018-04-05 (executed) / recorded 2018-04-06 — Reel 041935/0733

  • Conveyance: Release By Secured Party
  • Assignor: ORIX GROWTH CAPITAL, LLC
  • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey B. Johnson, HAYNES AND BOONE, LLP, 2323 Victory Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, TX 75219. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Release of the previously granted security interest.

• 2018-07-25 (executed) / recorded 2018-09-04 — Reel 043232/0832

  • Conveyance: Assignment (NUNC PRO TUNC)
  • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
  • Assignee: VB ASSETS, LLC
  • Correspondent: KEVIN W. NORRIS, FOLEY & LARDNER LLP, 975 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of patent assets, likely to a dedicated IP holding entity.

• 2019-04-12 (executed) / recorded 2019-04-15 — Reel 045353/0763

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: VB ASSETS, LLC
  • Assignee: DELPHI ASSET MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: JOHN D. GARRETT, HAYNES AND BOONE, LLP, 2323 Victory Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, TX 75219
  • Context: Grant of a security interest.

• 2019-06-13 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-14 — Reel 045864/0022

  • Conveyance: Release By Secured Party
  • Assignor: DELPHI ASSET MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
  • Assignee: VB ASSETS, LLC
  • Correspondent: JOHN D. GARRETT, HAYNES AND BOONE, LLP, 2323 Victory Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, TX 75219. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Release of the previously granted security interest.

• 2020-01-22 (executed) / recorded 2020-01-28 — Reel 051581/0216

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: VB ASSETS LLC
  • Assignee: NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
  • Correspondent: NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC., ONE BURLINGTON WOODS DRIVE, BURLINGTON, MA 01803
  • Context: Acquisition of patent assets, likely as part of the broader acquisition of VoiceBox Technologies.

• 2020-09-22 (executed) / recorded 2020-09-28 — Reel 051581/0214

  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
  • Assignee: VB ASSETS, LLC
  • Correspondent: KEVIN W. NORRIS, FOLEY & LARDNER LLP, 975 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Correction to a previous assignment, confirming transfer to VB Assets, LLC. This record indicates VB Assets, LLC is the current assignee, consistent with the Google Patents record.

• 2025-04-08 (executed) / recorded 2025-04-10 — Reel 066779/0064

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: VB ASSETS, LLC
  • Assignee: CONTINGENCY CAPITAL FUND A LP
  • Correspondent: DARRIN M. ALLES, FOLEY & LARDNER LLP, 975 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304
  • Context: Grant of a security interest.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7818176
    2007 : Inventors to VoiceBox Tech Inc
    2010 : Patent issued
    2014 : VoiceBox Tech Inc merged
    2017 : Security interest to ORIX
    2018 : ORIX releases interest
         : Assigned to VB Assets LLC
    2019 : Security interest to Delphi
         : Delphi releases interest
    2020 : Assigned to Nuance Comm Inc
         : Corrective Assignment to VB Assets
    2025 : Security interest to Contingency Cap

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present.

   • 2018-07-25 (executed) / recorded 2018-09-04 — Reel 043232/0832. Assignee: VB Assets, LLC. This entity name, "VB Assets, LLC," strongly suggests a shell entity holding assets, with no clear operating business. Furthermore, VB Assets, LLC has been involved in multiple infringement lawsuits, as noted in the litigation summary.
   • 2020-09-22 (executed) / recorded 2020-09-28 — Reel 051581/0214. This corrective assignment confirms VB Assets, LLC as the assignee after a brief transfer to Nuance Communications, Inc., reinforcing its role as an asset-holding entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — present. VB Assets, LLC is a known patent asserter. This is evidenced by the multiple active district court cases where VB Assets, LLC is the plaintiff, as detailed in the litigation summary.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present.

   • Kevin W. Norris of Foley & Lardner LLP appears on:
     • 2007-04-20 (Reel 019313/0388)
     • 2014-04-07 (Reel 032231/0724)
     • 2018-07-25 (Reel 043232/0832)
     • 2020-09-22 (Reel 051581/0214)
   • Jeffrey B. Johnson of Haynes and Boone, LLP appears on:
     • 2017-12-22 (Reel 041300/0173)
     • 2018-04-05 (Reel 041935/0733)
   • John D. Garrett of Haynes and Boone, LLP appears on:
     • 2019-04-12 (Reel 045353/0763)
     • 2019-06-13 (Reel 045864/0022)
   • The consistent use of specific correspondents, particularly Kevin W. Norris across several assignments involving VoiceBox Technologies and VB Assets, LLC, is a strong signal.

4. Cascading transfers — unclear. While there are several transfers, they are somewhat spread out. The transfers involving security interests and their subsequent releases are part of financing, not necessarily cascading transfers for assertion. The transfer to Nuance and then the corrective assignment back to VB Assets in 2020 is somewhat quick, but not necessarily a "cascading" pattern in the typical NPE sense.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — present.

   • The transfer to VB Assets, LLC was executed on 2018-07-25 and recorded on 2018-09-04 (Reel 043232/0832). The first infringement suit against Amazon was filed on 2019-07-26 (1:19-cv-01410), which is within 12 months of the assignment to VB Assets, LLC. This transfer positions the patent with the asserter entity prior to litigation.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. The original assignee, VoiceBox Technologies, Inc., was acquired by Nuance Communications, Inc., not dissolved in bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — unclear. While VoiceBox Technologies was acquired by Nuance, and the patent subsequently ended up with VB Assets, LLC, there is no direct evidence in the provided information or patent records to suggest Nuance is using VB Assets, LLC to assert against its competitors. The 2020 assignment to Nuance and subsequent corrective assignment back to VB Assets, LLC (Reel 051581/0216 and 051581/0214) indicate a complex ownership path around the time of Nuance's acquisition of VoiceBox.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The current assignee is VB Assets, LLC, which is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on multiple strong signals: the transfer to a shell entity (VB Assets, LLC, Reel 043232/0832), the current assignee being a known patent asserter (VB Assets, LLC, active in multiple litigations), and the recurrence of the same correspondent attorney (Kevin W. Norris of Foley & Lardner LLP) across several key assignments in the chain. Furthermore, the transfer to VB Assets, LLC occurred within a year prior to the first infringement suit, indicating a pre-litigation transfer to enable assertion.

USPTO Assignment Center search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/