Assignment history

Inventors

• Albert J. McGowan: Employed by Unicorn Media Inc. at the time of filing.
• Richard L. Carls: Employed by Unicorn Media Inc. at the time of filing.

No unusual patterns, such as all inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing, are immediately apparent. The inventors assigned their rights to Unicorn Media Inc. shortly after the patent application's priority date and before the filing date.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent was Unicorn Media Inc.

Unicorn Media Inc. was a cloud-based video technology company that developed a platform for video streaming, including ingestion, transcoding, and content management. This aligns directly with the subject matter of US8280987, which describes a "Cloud data persistence engine" for media servicing systems. Unicorn Media Inc. did ship products embodying the claims described in the patent.

Unicorn Media Inc. was acquired by Brightcove Inc. in January 2014, and therefore is no longer an independent operating entity.

Assignment timeline

• 2011-01-20 (executed) / recorded 2011-05-05 — Reel 035255/0055

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ALBERT J MCGOWAN; RICHARD L CARLS
  • Assignee: UNICORN MEDIA, INC.
  • Correspondent: BAKER BOTTS L.L.P. - HOUSTON, 910 LOUISIANA, HOUSTON, TEXAS, 77002-4995.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor rights to the original operating company.

• 2014-04-28 (executed) / recorded 2014-04-30 — Reel 032488/0609

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: UNICORN MEDIA, INC.
  • Assignee: CACTI ACQUISITION LLC
  • Correspondent: FISH & RICHARDSON P.C. - CA, P.O. BOX 1022, MINNEAPOLIS, MN, 55440-1022.
  • Context: Transfer as part of Unicorn Media Inc.'s acquisition by Brightcove Inc., with Cacti Acquisition LLC acting as an acquisition vehicle.

• 2015-01-06 (executed) / recorded 2015-01-08 — Reel 032766/0615

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: CACTI ACQUISITION LLC
  • Assignee: BRIGHTCOVE INC.
  • Correspondent: ROPES & GRAY LLP, 1211 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NY, 10036-8704.
  • Context: Internal transfer following the acquisition, moving the patent from the acquisition vehicle to the acquiring operating company.

• 2024-06-03 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-04 — Reel 057993/0312

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BRIGHTCOVE INC.
  • Assignee: ADEIA MEDIA HOLDINGS LLC
  • Correspondent: PAUL HASTINGS LLP - LA, 101 CALIFORNIA STREET, 48TH FLOOR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94111.
  • Context: Transfer of patent assets from an operating company to an entity associated with a known patent licensing firm.

• 2025-05-28 (executed) / recorded 2025-05-28 — Reel 059200/0173

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: ADEIA GUIDES INC; ADEIA HOLDINGS INC; ADEIA IMAGING LLC; ADEIA INC (F/K/A XPERI HOLDING CORPORATION); ADEIA MEDIA HOLDINGS INC; ADEIA MEDIA LLC; ADEIA MEDIA SOLUTIONS INC; ADEIA PUBLISHING INC; ADEIA SEMICONDUCTOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES INC; ADEIA SEMICONDUCTOR BONDING TECHNOLOGIES INC; ADEIA SEMICONDUCTOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LLC; ADEIA SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS LLC; ADEIA SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES LLC; ADEIA SOLUTIONS LLC; ADEIA TECHNOLOGIES INC
  • Assignee: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Correspondent: OBLON, MCCLELLAND, MAIER & NEUSTADT, L.L.P., 1940 DUKE STREET, ALEXANDRIA, VA, 22314.
  • Context: Security interest granted over a portfolio of patents, including US8280987, as collateral for financing. This is not a change of ownership.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8280987
    2011 : Inventors to Unicorn Media
    2011 : Application filed by Unicorn Media
    2012 : Patent issued
    2014 : Unicorn to Cacti Acquisition
    2015 : Cacti to Brightcove Inc
    2024 : Brightcove to Adeia Media
    2024 : Infringement suit filed
    2025 : Security agreement BoA

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The transfer from Brightcove Inc. to ADEIA MEDIA HOLDINGS LLC (executed 2024-06-03, recorded 2024-06-04, Reel 057993/0312) involves a subsidiary of Adeia Technologies Inc., a known patent licensing and assertion entity [cite: Reel 057993/0312, 3]. Adeia Media Holdings LLC, as part of Adeia Technologies, is consistent with a licensing-only or assertion-focused entity rather than a product-shipping operating company.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. The current assignee, ADEIA MEDIA HOLDINGS LLC, is a subsidiary of Adeia Technologies Inc. (formerly Xperi Holding Corporation), which is widely recognized as a patent licensing and assertion firm [cite: Reel 057993/0312, 3].
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. A review of the recorded assignments shows different correspondent attorneys and firms for each assignment in the chain. There is no recurrence of the same correspondent across the ownership transfers.
4. Cascading transfers — Unclear. The transfers from Unicorn Media Inc. to CACTI ACQUISITION LLC (executed 2014-04-28, Reel 032488/0609) and then to BRIGHTCOVE INC. (executed 2015-01-06, Reel 032766/0615) occurred within a 9-month period. While this is a rapid sequence, it appears to be part of Brightcove Inc.'s acquisition of Unicorn Media Inc., rather than a series of transfers between shell entities typically associated with an NPE strategy.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment to ADEIA MEDIA HOLDINGS LLC was executed on 2024-06-03 and recorded on 2024-06-04 (Reel 057993/0312). The infringement suit Adeia Technologies Inc. et al. v. The Walt Disney Company et al. (Case No. 1:24-cv-01231) was filed on November 7, 2024. This transfer occurred approximately 5 months prior to the litigation filing, falling within the typical 6-month window for pre-litigation transfers to establish venue or clear standing [cite: Reel 057993/0312].
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. Unicorn Media Inc. was acquired by Brightcove Inc. in a corporate acquisition, not a bankruptcy proceeding.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While Brightcove Inc. (an operating company) transferred the patent to Adeia Media Holdings LLC (a known asserter), and it's plausible Brightcove could indirectly benefit from Adeia asserting against competitors, there is no public information readily available in the assignment records or general searches to confirm a privateering arrangement.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent's ownership chain terminates with Adeia Media Holdings LLC, which is an assertion entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The strong signals for NPE behavior include the transfer to a known asserter (ADEIA MEDIA HOLDINGS LLC, a subsidiary of Adeia Technologies Inc.) on 2024-06-03 (Reel 057993/0312) and this transfer occurring approximately five months before the filing of an infringement lawsuit in November 2024. The current assignee, Adeia, is recognized for its patent licensing and assertion business model.

USPTO Assignment Center search page for US8280987: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ [cite: Reel 035255/0055, Reel 032488/0609, Reel 032766/0615, Reel 057993/0312, Reel 059200/0173]