Assignment history

Inventors

• Yoshie Maeda (JVCKenwood Corp)

Original assignee

The original assignee is JVCKenwood Corp. JVCKenwood is a Japanese multinational electronics company that manufactures car and home electronics, wireless systems, professional broadcast, CCTV, and two-way radio equipment. They ship a wide range of products embodying various technologies, including audio and visual equipment, car navigation systems, dashcams, and professional communication systems. JVCKenwood is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2012-09-06 (executed) / recorded 2012-09-06 — Reel 028906/0474

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: MAEDA, YOSHIE
  • Assignee: JVC Kenwood Corporation
  • Correspondent: A. KAMIYA, JVC KENWOOD CORPORATION, YOKOHAMA, JAPAN. This correspondent filed the original assignment from the inventor to the initial operating company.
  • Context: Internal transfer from inventor to operating company

• 2024-06-25 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-25 — Reel 063629/0812

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: JVC Kenwood Corporation
  • Assignee: Soundclear Technologies LLC
  • Correspondent: KEVIN S. GORNY, DAIGNAULT IYER LLP, 1800 DIAGONAL ROAD, SUITE 210, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22314. This correspondent's firm is involved in NPE litigation.
  • Context: Transfer to asserter

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9223487
    2011 : Priority date
    2012 : Filed by JVCKenwood Corp
    2015 : Issued to JVCKenwood Corp
    2024 : Assigned to SoundClear Technologies LLC
    2024 : Infringement suits filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The patent was transferred from JVCKenwood Corp., a multinational electronics company that develops and manufactures products, to SoundClear Technologies LLC. SoundClear Technologies LLC was formed in Virginia on June 29, 2023, and little public information is available concerning its management or personnel. Court filings indicate that SoundClear Technologies LLC is wholly owned by SoundClear LLC, which was formed in Delaware on June 28, 2023. This structure, along with the lack of detailed operational information or product lines beyond asserting patents, strongly suggests a shell entity. The name "SoundClear Technologies LLC" also suggests a focus on licensing or assertion rather than product development, especially considering the prior art "SoundClear Technology of Cirrus Logic".

   • Supporting evidence: Reel 063629/0812 (2024-06-25) and associated public information about SoundClear Technologies LLC.

2. Known asserter in the chain — present. SoundClear Technologies LLC has filed patent infringement actions against major technology companies like Google and Amazon, asserting US9223487B2 along with other patents. RPX, a leading provider of patent risk solutions and known for tracking NPEs, has reported on SoundClear Technologies LLC's litigation activities and its acquisition of patents from JVCKenwood. This clearly identifies SoundClear Technologies LLC as a patent asserter.

   • Supporting evidence: Reel 063629/0812 (2024-06-25) and RPX reports citing SoundClear Technologies LLC.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Kevin S. Gorny of Daignault Iyer LLP is listed as the correspondent on the assignment from JVC Kenwood Corporation to Soundclear Technologies LLC (Reel 063629/0812). Daignault Iyer LLP has been noted by RPX as representing SoundClear Technologies in its litigation. While the direct source doesn't indicate that Kevin S. Gorny or Daignault Iyer LLP recurs specifically on this patent's chain, the firm is known to represent patent assertion entities, and their involvement here points to an NPE pattern.

   • Supporting evidence: Reel 063629/0812 (2024-06-25) and RPX reports.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one transfer between corporate entities (JVCKenwood to SoundClear Technologies LLC) for this patent, not multiple consecutive assignments.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The assignment from JVC Kenwood Corporation to SoundClear Technologies LLC was executed and recorded on June 25, 2024 (Reel 063629/0812). SoundClear Technologies LLC filed patent infringement actions against Google and Amazon starting on July 25, 2024. This transfer occurred exactly one month before the first infringement suits were filed, strongly indicating it was arranged to enable assertion.

   • Supporting evidence: Reel 063629/0812 (2024-06-25) and litigation filing dates.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. JVCKenwood Corporation is an active, operating company.

7. Privateering — unclear. While JVCKenwood has divested patents to NPEs in the past, including SoundClear Technologies, there's no explicit evidence in the provided data (e.g., SEC filings or specific reports) to confirm that JVCKenwood is acting as a "privateer" and asserting on its behalf through SoundClear Technologies.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with SoundClear Technologies LLC, which is actively asserting the patent, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The transfer of US9223487 from operating company JVCKenwood Corp. to SoundClear Technologies LLC (Reel 063629/0812, 2024-06-25) exhibits strong NPE characteristics: SoundClear Technologies LLC appears to be a shell entity formed shortly before acquiring the patent, is known to be a patent asserter by RPX, and initiated litigation against Google and Amazon within a month of the assignment. The correspondent attorney's firm is also known to represent patent assertion entities.

USPTO Assignment Center search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html (search by patent number 9223487)