Assignment history

Inventors

• Tom Freeman: Employed by VoiceBox Technologies Corp. at the time of the earliest priority filing date (February 6, 2007).
• Mike Kennewick: Employed by VoiceBox Technologies Corp. at the time of the earliest priority filing date (February 6, 2007).

There are no unusual patterns observed with inventor departure.

Original assignee

The original assignee, as named on the issued patent and the earliest priority application, was VoiceBox Technologies Corp. [cite: US9269097B2]

VoiceBox Technologies Corp. was described as a pioneer in conversational AI, shipping products embodying the claims in the form of natural language processing and voice recognition software and systems. The company's primary line of business was developing and licensing conversational AI technologies. VoiceBox Technologies was acquired by Nuance Communications in early 2020. However, the patents, including US 9,269,097, were transferred to VB Assets, LLC, which now operates as an asserting entity, actively litigating the portfolio. [cite: previously generated summary]

Assignment timeline

1. 2014-10-31 (executed) / recorded 2014-11-10 — Reel 042218/0879

   • Conveyance: Assignment
   • Assignor: FREEMAN, TOM; KENNEWICK, MIKE
   • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
   • Correspondent: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES, INC., 12100 NE 195th St, Suite 300, Bothell, WA, 98011
   • Context: Initial assignment from inventors to the original operating company.

2. 2017-12-14 (executed) / recorded 2017-12-22 — Reel 044733/0861

   • Conveyance: Security Interest
   • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
   • Assignee: ORIX GROWTH CAPITAL, LLC
   • Correspondent: Jeffrey D. Cohen, MORRIS, MANNING & MARTIN, LLP, 1600 ATLATLANTIC STEEL BLVD., SUITE 500, ATLANTA, GA, 30363-2578. This correspondent recurs multiple times in this chain.
   • Context: Security interest granted by VoiceBox Technologies Corp. to a financing entity.

3. 2018-03-22 (executed) / recorded 2018-04-05 — Reel 044990/0748

   • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
   • Assignor: ORIX GROWTH CAPITAL, LLC
   • Assignee: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
   • Correspondent: Jeffrey D. Cohen, MORRIS, MANNING & MARTIN, LLP, 1600 ATLANTIC STEEL BLVD., SUITE 500, ATLANTA, GA, 30363-2578. This correspondent recurs multiple times in this chain.
   • Context: Release of security interest back to VoiceBox Technologies Corp.

4. 2018-07-20 (executed) / recorded 2018-07-25 — Reel 045610/0550

   • Conveyance: NUNC PRO TUNC ASSIGNMENT
   • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
   • Assignee: VB ASSETS, LLC
   • Correspondent: Jeffrey D. Cohen, MORRIS, MANNING & MARTIN, LLP, 1600 ATLANTIC STEEL BLVD., SUITE 500, ATLANTA, GA, 30363-2578. This correspondent recurs multiple times in this chain.
   • Context: Assignment from the original operating company (VoiceBox Technologies Corp.) to VB Assets, LLC, with retroactive effect. This often indicates a spin-off of patent assets.

5. 2019-04-03 (executed) / recorded 2019-04-12 — Reel 047120/0047

   • Conveyance: Security Interest
   • Assignor: VB ASSETS, LLC
   • Assignee: DELPHI ASSET MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
   • Correspondent: Jeffrey D. Cohen, MORRIS, MANNING & MARTIN, LLP, 1600 ATLANTIC STEEL BLVD., SUITE 500, ATLANTA, GA, 30363-2578. This correspondent recurs multiple times in this chain.
   • Context: Security interest granted by VB Assets, LLC.

6. 2019-06-03 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-13 — Reel 047321/0434

   • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
   • Assignor: DELPHI ASSET MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
   • Assignee: VB ASSETS, LLC
   • Correspondent: Jeffrey D. Cohen, MORRIS, MANNING & MARTIN, LLP, 1600 ATLANTIC STEEL BLVD., SUITE 500, ATLANTA, GA, 30363-2578. This correspondent recurs multiple times in this chain.
   • Context: Release of security interest back to VB Assets, LLC.

7. 2020-01-09 (executed) / recorded 2020-01-22 — Reel 051581/0216

   • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
   • Assignor: VB ASSETTS LLC (recorded with typo)
   • Assignee: NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
   • Correspondent: LORNA HING, CHOATE, HALL & STEWART LLP, TWO INTERNATIONAL PLACE, BOSTON, MA, 02110. This correspondent is new in this chain.
   • Context: Assignment of interest to Nuance Communications, Inc., subsequently corrected by a later recording for this patent.

8. 2018-07-20 (executed) / recorded 2020-09-22 — Reel 051778/0130

   • Conveyance: CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE ASSIGNOR'S NAME AND ASSIGNEE'S NAME PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 051581 FRAME: 0216. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST.
   • Assignor: VOICEBOX TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
   • Assignee: VB ASSETS, LLC
   • Correspondent: Jeffrey D. Cohen, MORRIS, MANNING & MARTIN, LLP, 1600 ATLANTIC STEEL BLVD., SUITE 500, ATLANTA, GA, 30363-2578. This correspondent recurs multiple times in this chain.
   • Context: Corrective assignment. This document explicitly corrected the assignor and assignee names recorded in Reel 051581/0216 (the Nuance assignment), affirming the transfer from VoiceBox Technologies Corp. to VB Assets, LLC, and thereby clarifying VB Assets, LLC's ongoing ownership of this patent. The execution date matches the original NUNC PRO TUNC assignment, indicating a clarification of the original asset transfer.

9. 2025-03-31 (executed) / recorded 2025-04-08 — Reel 062838/0333

   • Conveyance: Security Interest
   • Assignor: VB ASSETS, LLC
   • Assignee: CONTINGENCY CAPITAL FUND A LP
   • Correspondent: David S. Goldblatt, SUGHRUE MION, PLLC, 2000 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 900, WASHINGTON, DC, 20006. This correspondent is new in this chain.
   • Context: Security interest granted by VB Assets, LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9269097
    2014 : Inventors assign to VoiceBox Tech
    2017 : Security interest to Orix
    2018 : Orix releases security interest
         : VoiceBox assigns to VB Assets (NUNC PRO TUNC)
    2019 : Security interest to Delphi
         : Delphi releases security interest
    2020 : VB Assets assigns to Nuance (corrected)
         : VoiceBox corrects Nuance assignment to VB Assets
    2025 : Security interest to Contingency Capital

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The transfer from VoiceBox Technologies Corporation, an operating company, to VB Assets, LLC (Reel 045610/0550, executed 2018-07-20, and corrected by Reel 051778/0130, executed 2018-07-20) indicates a shift of patent assets to a licensing-focused entity. The previous summary confirms VB Assets, LLC is "actively enforcing a portfolio of patents".

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. VB Assets, LLC is identified as the current assignee and has filed patent infringement lawsuits against major technology companies like Google, Apple, and Samsung, as detailed in the previously generated litigation summary. [cite: previously generated summary] This explicitly flags VB Assets, LLC as an asserting entity (NPE).

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Jeffrey D. Cohen of MORRIS, MANNING & MARTIN, LLP is listed as the correspondent on multiple assignments: Reel 044733/0861 (2017-12-22), 044990/0748 (2018-04-05), 045610/0550 (2018-07-25), 047120/0047 (2019-04-12), 047321/0434 (2019-06-13), and 051778/0130 (2020-09-22). This consistent representation by the same attorney/firm across key asset transfers and financial dealings of VB Assets, LLC is a strong signal.

4. Cascading transfers — Unclear. While there are multiple financial transactions (security interests and releases), there are no immediate, consecutive transfers of ownership between different shell LLCs within a short timeframe. The main ownership transfer is from the operating company to VB Assets, LLC.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The primary assignment to VB Assets, LLC was executed on 2018-07-20 (Reel 045610/0550 and Reel 051778/0130). VB Assets, LLC filed its first infringement lawsuit concerning this patent against Apple Inc. on July 26, 2019 (Case 1:19-cv-01410). While slightly longer than 6 months (approximately 1 year), this transfer directly precedes and enables the assertion campaign.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no evidence in the assignment records or provided context indicating that VoiceBox Technologies Corp. underwent bankruptcy proceedings leading to the sale of its patent assets.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While VB Assets, LLC asserts patents originally from an operating company, there is no explicit information provided that suggests the original operating company (VoiceBox, or its acquirer Nuance) is funding or directing the litigation against competitors through VB Assets.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently owned by VB Assets, LLC, an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The presence of multiple strong signals, including the transfer from an operating company to a shell entity (VB Assets, LLC, Reel 045610/0550, executed 2018-07-20), VB Assets, LLC being a known patent asserter (as confirmed by the ongoing litigation against major tech companies), and the consistent use of the same correspondent across numerous transactions (Jeffrey D. Cohen, Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, across six distinct recordings), all point to a high-confidence NPE assertion pattern.

USPTO Assignment Center search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/[9269097](/patent/9269097)