Assignment history

Inventors

• David Shaun Neal: Employer at the time of filing is not explicitly stated. Given that the patent was originally assigned to TRINITY INTEL MEDIA LLC, it is highly probable he was affiliated with or employed by this entity.
• Timothy Beggy: Employer at the time of filing is not explicitly stated. Similar to David Shaun Neal, it is highly probable he was affiliated with or employed by TRINITY INTEL MEDIA LLC.

There are no unusual patterns detectable from the provided information regarding inventors departing the original assignee.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is TRINITY INTEL MEDIA LLC.

Their primary line of business, as described in the patent, is operating a "poll-based networking system" in the form of a "website and web accessible database, computer program product, computer implemented method, and data processing system that operate as a social networking website." [cite: US9087321B2] This strongly implies they shipped a product embodying the claims—a social networking platform.

Their current status, based on Google Patents, is Active.

Assignment timeline

• 2012-09-20 (executed) / recorded 2013-03-29 — Reel 030114/0051

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: NEAL, DAVID SHAUN; BEGGY, TIMOTHY (inventors)
  • Assignee: TRINITY INTEL MEDIA, LLC, PENNSYLVANIA
  • Correspondent: Not available in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from the inventors to the original assignee.

• 2018-03-28 (executed) / recorded 2020-01-22 — Reel 051667/0060

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: TRINITY INTEL MEDIA, LLC
  • Assignee: TRINITY INFO MEDIA, LLC, PENNSYLVANIA
  • Correspondent: Not available in the provided text.
  • Context: Legal name change of the patent owner.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9087321
    2010 : Filed by Trinity Intel Media LLC
    2012 : Inventors assign to Trinity Intel Media LLC
    2015 : Issued
    2018 : Trinity Intel Media LLC changes name to Trinity Info Media LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The patent has remained with what appears to be the operating company and its subsequent legal name change. There are no transfers to entities with names like "IP Holdings" or "Licensing LLCs."
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. The current assignee, Trinity Info Media LLC, is not explicitly listed as a known NPE/asserter in the standard directories (Acacia, Marathon, Intellectual Ventures, etc.) based on the provided information, although they are a plaintiff in multiple litigation cases.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. Correspondent information is not available in the provided patent text for the recorded assignments. Therefore, it is impossible to determine if the same attorney or firm handled multiple recordings.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one actual transfer of ownership (from inventors to the company) and one name change. No multiple consecutive assignments.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The earliest recorded litigation mentioned for this patent (3:20-cv-07114) was filed in 2020. The only recorded ownership transfer was from the inventors to the original assignee (effective 2012, recorded 2013). The name change occurred in 2018 (effective) / 2020 (recorded), which coincides with the filing of litigation, but it's a name change, not a transfer of ownership to a new entity for assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication that the original assignee or any subsequent owner has filed for bankruptcy and sold the patent in proceedings.
7. Privateering — not present. There is no information suggesting an operating company transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion.
The patent was initially assigned from the inventors to TRINITY INTEL MEDIA LLC (recorded 2013-03-29, Reel 030114/0051), which later changed its name to TRINITY INFO MEDIA, LLC (recorded 2020-01-22, Reel 051667/0060). The patent describes a "poll-based networking system" as a "social networking website," suggesting the assignee develops and potentially operates a product based on the claims. The numerous litigation cases indicate an asserting entity, but the chain itself does not exhibit classic NPE shell-entity transfer patterns.

USPTO Patent Assignment Search