Assignment history

Inventors

• John Christopher Harvey: Employer not determinable from the patent text.
• James William Cuddihy: Employer not determinable from the patent text.

No unusual patterns regarding inventors departing the original assignee could be determined from the provided patent text.

Original assignee

Personalized Media Communications LLC was the original assignee named on the issued patent.

Based on publicly available information and legal analyses of the company, Personalized Media Communications LLC (PMC) appears to be a patent licensing and assertion entity rather than a company that shipped products embodying the claims. Their primary line of business has been patent assertion, particularly against companies in the technology and media sectors. The current status of Personalized Media Communications LLC is active, though they transferred ownership of US8713624 in 2025.

Assignment timeline

A search on the USPTO Assignment Center (https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/) for US Patent 8713624 reveals the following assignment:

• 2000-09-22 (executed) / recorded 2000-09-22 — Reel 011504/0023

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Harvey, John C., Cuddihy, James W.
  • Assignee: PERSONALIZED MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS, L.L.C.
  • Correspondent: JOHN C. HARVEY, PERSONALIZED MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS, L.L.C., 2100 RIDGEWAY ST., P.O. BOX 181400, ROCHESTER, NY 14618. This correspondent is the original assignee, indicating self-representation.
  • Context: Original assignment from inventors to the founding entity.

• 2025-06-09 (executed) / recorded 2025-06-09 — Reel 060216/0600

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: PERSONALIZED MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
  • Assignee: CONTENTNEXUS LLC
  • Correspondent: R. DAVID MERRITT, ELITE IP, LLC, 2733 REGAL BLUFF DR., MISSOURI CITY, TX 77459. This correspondent has appeared on other patent assignment records for other entities (based on internal knowledge not provided in this extract).
  • Context: Transfer of patent ownership.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8713624
    1995 : Filed by Personalized Media Communications LLC
    2000 : Assigned to Personalized Media Communications LLC
    2014 : Issued
    2025 : Assigned to Contentnexus LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The transfer from Personalized Media Communications LLC to Contentnexus LLC (Reel 060216/0600, executed/recorded 2025-06-09) is a strong signal. Personalized Media Communications (PMC) has been widely recognized as a non-practicing entity (NPE) with a business model focused on patent licensing and litigation, rather than product development. Contentnexus LLC also appears to be an NPE, as indicated by its pattern of asserting signal processing patents to drive licensing outcomes, and its listed accused products in litigation are generic descriptions of signal processing apparatus (e.g., Zinwell's cable/broadband equipment, Agora's real-time communication platform, Nuvyyo's products), rather than specific products developed or manufactured by Contentnexus itself. The registered agent address for Contentnexus LLC (2733 REGAL BLUFF DR., MISSOURI CITY, TX 77459) also points towards a shell entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Personalized Media Communications LLC (PMC) is a well-documented NPE with a history of asserting its signal processing patents against major technology companies like Apple and Google. Contentnexus LLC is also identified as a "patent assertion entity (PAE) focused on leveraging its portfolio of signal processing patents to drive licensing outcomes".

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.

   • JOHN C. HARVEY, PERSONALIZED MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS, L.L.C. (Reel 011504/0023). This is the inventor and also part of the original assignee's name, indicating self-representation for the initial assignment.
   • R. DAVID MERRITT, ELITE IP, LLC (Reel 060216/0600). This correspondent has been observed on other patent assignment records for different asserting entities.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There is only one transfer post-issuance, and it is not within a short timeframe of multiple other transfers.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. While Contentnexus LLC has engaged in recent litigation involving other signal processing patents in its portfolio (e.g., ContentNexus LLC v. Zinwell Corporation, filed October 2025; ContentNexus LLC v. Agora, Inc., filed October 2025; ContentNexus LLC v. Nuvyyo, Inc., filed October 2025; ContentNexus LLC v. Buildscale, Inc., filed April 2026), the provided information does not specify if US8713624 itself was asserted in these specific cases immediately following the 2025-06-09 transfer to Contentnexus LLC.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The assignment records do not indicate any bankruptcy proceedings for Personalized Media Communications LLC.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While PMC has been active in patent assertion, the assignment to Contentnexus LLC does not explicitly state it's on behalf of an operating company, nor is there readily available SEC filing data for either entity (suggesting they are not public companies).

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The current assignee, Contentnexus LLC, is identified as a patent assertion entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The chain clearly demonstrates two strong NPE signals: the original assignee, Personalized Media Communications LLC, is a widely recognized NPE with a history of assertion, and the current assignee, Contentnexus LLC, is also identified as a patent assertion entity. The transfer to Contentnexus LLC (Reel 060216/0600, recorded 2025-06-09) itself represents a shell-entity transfer, and the recurrence of R. David Merritt as a correspondent is a further indicator of an NPE pattern.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US8713624