Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor is Kazuki Oono. His employer at the time of the patent application filing (March 5, 2014) was GREE, Inc., as evidenced by an assignment executed on the same date under an "EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT" [Reel/Frame: 041180/0471].

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent, and the original owner via assignment from the inventor, is GREE, Inc. [Reel/Frame: 041180/0471]. GREE, Inc. is a Japanese mobile social gaming company that develops and operates various mobile games and social networking services, shipping products embodying the claims. GREE, Inc. subsequently underwent a corporate name change to GREE Holdings Inc. in 2025 [Reel/Frame: 072534/0675, 072534/0670], and continues to operate as such.

Assignment timeline

The full assignment record for US patent 9079107, in chronological order:

• 2013-03-05 (executed) / recorded 2018-01-31 — Reel 041180/0471

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: OONO, KAZUKI
  • Assignee: GREE, INC.
  • Correspondent: GREE, INC. (ATTN: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEPT.), ROPPONGI HILLS MORI TOWER, 6-10-1 ROPPONGI, MINATO-KU, TOKYO, 106-6112, JAPAN
  • Context: Inventor assigned rights to the operating company under an employment agreement.

• 2021-02-12 (executed) / recorded 2021-03-10 — Reel 071303/0337

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: GREE, INC.
  • Assignee: NSF I LLC
  • Correspondent: HESLIN ROTHENBERG FARLEY & MESITI P.C., 5 COLUMBIA CIRCLE, ALBANY, NY 12203
  • Context: GREE, Inc. granted a security interest in the patent, likely as collateral for financing.

• 2025-05-16 (executed) / recorded 2025-06-10 — Reel 072534/0675

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: GREE, INC.
  • Assignee: GREE HOLDINGS, INC.
  • Correspondent: GREE, INC. (ATTN: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEPT.), 6-10, ROPPONGI 6-CHOME MINATO-KU, TOKYO, 106-6112, JAPAN. This correspondent is the same as the original assignee's in-house IP department.
  • Context: Corporate name change from GREE, Inc. to GREE Holdings Inc.

• 2025-05-16 (executed) / recorded 2025-06-10 — Reel 072534/0670

  • Conveyance: CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: GREE, INC.
  • Assignee: GREE HOLDINGS, INC.
  • Correspondent: GREE, INC. (ATTN: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEPT.), 6-10, ROPPONGI 6-CHOME MINATO-KU, TOKYO, 106-6112, JAPAN. This correspondent is the same as the original assignee's in-house IP department.
  • Context: Corrective assignment to update details following the corporate name change.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9079107
    2013 : Inventor assigned to GREE Inc.
    2015 : Patent issued
    2019 : First infringement suit filed
    2021 : Security interest to NSF I LLC
    2025 : Assigned to GREE Holdings Inc. (name change)
         : Corrective assignment

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Not present. The patent was initially assigned to an operating company, GREE, Inc. The most recent assignment reflects a corporate name change to GREE Holdings Inc., which is also an operating entity. The transfer to NSF I LLC was a security interest, not a direct ownership transfer for assertion.
2. Known asserter in the chain: Not present. GREE, Inc. (and GREE Holdings Inc.) is a known operating company. NSF I LLC is not identified as a known patent assertion entity in the provided search results.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Unclear. GREE, Inc.'s in-house intellectual property department acted as correspondent for the inventor assignment (Reel 041180/0471) and the subsequent corporate name change assignments (Reel 072534/0675, Reel 072534/0670). Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. acted as correspondent for the security interest to NSF I LLC (Reel 071303/0337). While Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. is a large IP litigation firm, their single appearance in this chain for a security interest does not establish a pattern of representing multiple shell entities in an ownership chain for assertion.
4. Cascading transfers: Not present. The assignments are spaced years apart, reflecting distinct corporate events (inventor assignment, security interest, corporate name change), not rapid consecutive transfers between linked entities.
5. Pre-litigation transfer: Not present. The first infringement suit by GREE, Inc. against Supercell Oy was filed in September 2019. The only ownership assignment recorded after issuance but before the first litigation was the inventor assignment to GREE, Inc. (recorded 2018-01-31), which is a standard initial ownership transfer for an operating company. The security interest (recorded 2021-03-10) occurred after the litigation commenced.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present. GREE, Inc. (and GREE Holdings Inc.) remains an active, operating company.
7. Privateering: Not present. GREE, Inc., an operating company, directly asserted the patent against its competitor Supercell Oy. There is no indication of a transfer to an NPE to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present. The patent's ownership chain does not terminate with a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

The patent was assigned from the inventor to GREE, Inc., an operating company [Reel/Frame: 041180/0471]. GREE, Inc. then asserted this patent in litigation against a competitor, Supercell Oy, in 2019. The most recent assignments reflect a corporate name change from GREE, Inc. to GREE Holdings Inc. in 2025, indicating continued ownership by an operating entity for the purpose of protecting its market share. The security interest granted to NSF I LLC does not represent an ownership transfer for assertion purposes.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US9079107