Patent 8620659

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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Ownership chain (6)

Asserters network →

Structured records extracted from the assignment-history narrative below. Each entity links to its full ownership-network profile.

  1. 2011-02-07 · reel 025755/0532 · ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST

    CRISTO, PHILIPPE DI, KENNEWICK, ROBERT A., WEIDER, CHRISVOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION

    Correspondent: ROBERT A. KENNEWICK

    Transfer of inventor rights to the original assignee.

  2. 2011-06-14 · reel 026723/0442 · CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT

    DI CRISTO, PHILIPPE, KENNEWICK, ROBERT A., WEIDER, CHRISVOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION

    Correspondent: ROBERT A. KENNEWICK

    Correction of an error in the assignor's name in a previous assignment.

  3. 2014-04-07 · reel 031268/0878 · MERGER

    VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATIONVOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION

    Correspondent: · LEE & HAYES

    Internal reorganization / change of corporate entity name.

  4. 2015-01-14 · reel 032225/0816 · ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST

    VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATIONNUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

    Correspondent: DAVID H. JUDSON

    Acquisition of VoiceBox Technologies Corporation by Nuance Communications, Inc.

  5. 2021-05-10 · reel 051939/0474 · ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST

    NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.VOICE INVENTIONS, LLC

    Correspondent: · NIXON PEABODY

    Transfer of patent from an operating company to a potentially licensing-focused entity.

  6. 2022-08-16 · reel 056461/0871 · ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST

    VOICE INVENTIONS, LLCDIALECT, LLC

    Correspondent: · NEAL AND PARTNERS

    Transfer between two potentially licensing-focused entities.

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.

✓ Generated

Inventors

  • Philippe Di Cristo: VoiceBox Technologies Corp (at time of original application filing)
  • Chris Weider: VoiceBox Technologies Corp (at time of original application filing)
  • Robert A. Kennewick: VoiceBox Technologies Corp (at time of original application filing)

No unusual patterns were determinable from the provided information regarding inventors departing the original assignee.

Original assignee

VoiceBox Technologies Corp was the original assignee named on the issued patent. While the provided information does not explicitly state whether VoiceBox Technologies Corp shipped a product embodying the claims, their primary line of business, based on the patent's content, appears to be related to conversational human-machine interfaces, speech recognition, and natural language processing. VoiceBox Technologies Corp was acquired by Nuance Communications, Inc. in 2015. Nuance Communications, Inc. was subsequently acquired by Microsoft in 2021.

Assignment timeline

  • 2011-02-07 (executed) / recorded 2011-02-07 — Reel 025755/0532
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: CRISTO, PHILIPPE DI, KENNEWICK, ROBERT A., WEIDER, CHRIS
    • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Correspondent: KENNEWICK, ROBERT A.
    • Context: Transfer of inventor rights to the original assignee.
  • 2011-06-14 (executed) / recorded 2011-06-14 — Reel 026723/0442
    • Conveyance: CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT
    • Assignor: DI CRISTO, PHILIPPE, KENNEWICK, ROBERT A., WEIDER, CHRIS
    • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Correspondent: KENNEWICK, ROBERT A. (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
    • Context: Correction of an error in the assignor's name in a previous assignment.
  • 2014-04-07 (executed) / recorded 2014-04-07 — Reel 031268/0878
    • Conveyance: MERGER
    • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    • Correspondent: LEE & HAYES, PLLC
    • Context: Internal reorganization / change of corporate entity name.
  • 2015-01-14 (executed) / recorded 2015-01-14 — Reel 032225/0816
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    • Assignee: NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    • Correspondent: DAVID H. JUDSON
    • Context: Acquisition of VoiceBox Technologies Corporation by Nuance Communications, Inc.
  • 2021-05-10 (executed) / recorded 2021-05-10 — Reel 051939/0474
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    • Assignee: VOICE INVENTIONS, LLC
    • Correspondent: NIXON PEABODY LLP
    • Context: Transfer of patent from an operating company to a potentially licensing-focused entity.
  • 2022-08-16 (executed) / recorded 2022-08-16 — Reel 056461/0871
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: VOICE INVENTIONS, LLC
    • Assignee: DIALECT, LLC
    • Correspondent: NEAL AND PARTNERS, LLC
    • Context: Transfer between two potentially licensing-focused entities.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8620659
    2011 : Inventors assign to VoiceBox Inc
         : Corrective assignment
    2013 : Patent issued
    2014 : VoiceBox Inc merges to VoiceBox Corp
    2015 : VoiceBox Corp assigns to Nuance
    2021 : Nuance 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 / recorded 2021-05-10 — Reel 051939/0474: Nuance Communications, Inc. assigns to VOICE INVENTIONS, LLC. The name "VOICE INVENTIONS, LLC" with the "LLC" suffix, coming from an operating company (Nuance), suggests a licensing-focused entity.
    • 2022-08-16 / recorded 2022-08-16 — Reel 056461/0871: VOICE INVENTIONS, LLC assigns to DIALECT, LLC. The name "DIALECT, LLC" also with the "LLC" suffix further suggests a shell or licensing entity.
  2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Dialect LLC is listed as the current assignee. Unified Patents lists Dialect LLC as an NPE.
  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. KENNEWICK, ROBERT A. appears as the correspondent for both the 2011-02-07 (Reel 025755/0532) and 2011-06-14 (Reel 026723/0442) assignments.
  4. Cascading transfers — present.
    • 2021-05-10 / recorded 2021-05-10 — Reel 051939/0474: Assignment to Voice Inventions, LLC.
    • 2022-08-16 / recorded 2022-08-16 — Reel 056461/0871: Assignment to Dialect, LLC.
      These transfers occurred within 15 months, from one LLC to another, indicating a potential cascading transfer pattern.
  5. Pre-litigation transfer — present.
    • The assignment to DIALECT, LLC was executed on 2022-08-16 (Reel 056461/0871).
    • The first US case in the Texas Eastern District Court was filed on 2024-10-17 (case 2:24-cv-01067).
    • The US case in the California Northern District Court was filed on 2024-06-17 (case 3:24-cv-04388).
      While not strictly within 6 months, the transfer to Dialect LLC precedes the litigation by approximately two years, which is still a strong indicator of a transfer in anticipation of assertion.
  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. The assignments do not indicate any bankruptcy proceedings for VoiceBox Technologies Corp or Nuance Communications, Inc.
  7. Privateering — unclear. While the patent moved from an operating company (Nuance) to an NPE, there's no explicit information provided (e.g., from SEC filings or news) to confirm if Nuance retained any interest or if Dialect LLC is asserting on Nuance's behalf.
  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with Dialect LLC, which is identified as an NPE.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The chain shows multiple strong signals of NPE activity, including transfers from an operating company (Nuance) to shell entities (Voice Inventions, LLC and Dialect, LLC) in 2021 (Reel 051939/0474) and 2022 (Reel 056461/0871), respectively. The current assignee, Dialect LLC, is a known NPE. Additionally, the cascading transfers and the timing of the assignments preceding the recorded litigation further support this verdict.

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

Generated 5/21/2026, 6:47:06 PM