Assignment history

Inventors

• Ingo Tobias Doser (Employer: Thomson Licensing SAS)
• Jurgen Stauder (Employer: Thomson Licensing SAS)
• Bongsun Lee (Employer: Thomson Licensing SAS)

All inventors were employed by Thomson Licensing SAS at the time of filing, as indicated by the original assignment record.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Thomson Licensing SAS.
Thomson Licensing SAS (formerly Thomson S.A. and later Technicolor SA) was a major global player in consumer electronics, broadcast technology, and content creation, and as such, it is highly likely they shipped products embodying the claims related to display chromatic correction. Their primary line of business evolved over time, encompassing various aspects of media and entertainment technology, including research and development, manufacturing, and licensing.
Thomson Licensing SAS's assets and intellectual property related to its patent licensing business were later acquired by InterDigital in 2018.

Assignment timeline

• 2007-09-26 (executed) / recorded 2009-10-02 — Reel 022982/0754
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: STAUDER, JURGEN; DOSER, INGO TOBIAS; LEE, BONGSUN
  • Assignee: THOMSON LICENSING
  • Correspondent: BLAKELY, SOKOLOFF, TAYLOR & ZAFMAN LLP, 1279 OAKMEAD PARKWAY, SUNNYVALY, CA 94085-4040
  • Context: Original assignment from inventors to the employing company.
• 2017-01-13 (executed) / recorded 2017-01-17 — Reel 038670/0474
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: THOMSON LICENSING
  • Assignee: THOMSON LICENSING DTV
  • Correspondent: PERMANENT IP, 1 RUE J.P. TIMBAUD, VELIZY VILLACOUBLAY, 78140, FR
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization, transferring intellectual property between related entities.
• 2018-08-01 (executed) / recorded 2018-08-10 — Reel 042457/0118
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: THOMSON LICENSING DTV
  • Assignee: INTERDIGITAL MADISON PATENT HOLDINGS
  • Correspondent: FISH & RICHARDSON P.C. - MINNEAPOLIS, P.O. BOX 1187, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55440-1187
  • Context: Acquisition of a patent portfolio by InterDigital from Thomson/Technicolor.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9185268
    2007 : Inventors to Thomson Licensing
    2015 : Patent Issued
    2017 : Thomson Licensing to Thomson Licensing DTV
    2018 : Thomson Licensing DTV to InterDigital
    2025 : Litigation filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The transfer to "INTERDIGITAL MADISON PATENT HOLDINGS" (Assignee in Reel 042457/0118, recorded 2018-08-10) is a strong indicator of a shell entity, given the "Patent Holdings" suffix and InterDigital's known business model.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings is an entity associated with InterDigital, Inc., a company widely recognized as a patent licensing and assertion company. Unified Patents lists InterDigital as a high-frequency plaintiff. An IPR case IPR2026-00252 and a US district court case 2:25-cv-00895 are associated with this patent, with the petitioner/source being Unified Patents, which tracks NPE activity.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not Present. The correspondents for each assignment (BLAKELY, SOKOLOFF, TAYLOR & ZAFMAN LLP; PERMANENT IP; FISH & RICHARDSON P.C.) are distinct across this patent's assignment chain.
4. Cascading transfers — Unclear. There are two transfers within 19 months (2017-01-13 to 2018-08-01, Reels 038670/0474 and 042457/0118). While two transfers in under 24 months could be considered somewhat rapid, the nature of the first transfer appears to be an internal corporate reorganization within Thomson/Technicolor, followed by a sale to InterDigital. It doesn't exhibit the typical pattern of rapid, multiple transfers between shell LLCs by an NPE.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not Present. The assignment to InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings was executed on 2018-08-01 and recorded on 2018-08-10 (Reel 042457/0118). The earliest identified litigation (US case 2:25-cv-00895) was filed in 2025, significantly more than six months after this transfer.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not Present. While Thomson/Technicolor underwent restructuring, the sale of its patent licensing business to InterDigital was a strategic divestment, not a sale under Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — Unclear. The patent originated from an operating company (Thomson/Technicolor) and was acquired by a known NPE (InterDigital). However, there is no explicit public evidence to suggest a specific privateering arrangement where Thomson/Technicolor retains an interest in InterDigital's assertions against particular competitors. It appears to be a straightforward sale of a patent portfolio.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not Present. The current assignee, InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings, is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence
This verdict is based on two strong signals: the patent is currently held by InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings (Reel 042457/0118, recorded 2018-08-10), which is a known entity of InterDigital, Inc., a prominent patent licensing and assertion company. Furthermore, there is ongoing litigation involving this patent, including a district court case filed in 2025 and an IPR filed in 2026, as tracked by Unified Patents. This directly confirms the patent's use in assertion by a known NPE.

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