Patent 9591117

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Inventors

The sole named inventor is Garin Toren. No employer is listed on the patent.

Original assignee

The original assignee, as listed on the Google Patents page, is Messageloud LLC. The patent abstract indicates the invention is a "Method and system for communication," specifically for delivering messages while a user is engaged in an activity like driving, exercising, or working. The company appears to have offered a product, "messageLOUD® application," described in the patent (e.g., FIG. 1 illustrating a user launching the messageLOUD application). According to Google Patents, the current assignee is Messageloud Inc., suggesting a change in corporate structure from an LLC to an Inc. entity. Publicly available information beyond the patent itself would be needed to definitively determine their current product shipping status, primary line of business, or detailed corporate status (operating, acquired, dissolved, in bankruptcy).

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Patent Assignment Search was consulted for US9591117.

  • 2016-11-17 (executed) / recorded 2016-11-17 — Reel 038870/0413

    • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS)
    • Assignor: TOREN, GARIN
    • Assignee: messageLOUD LLC
    • Correspondent: MICHAEL L. LOFARO, ESQ., 1221 E. Lincoln Highway, #332, Levittown, PA, 19056
    • Context: Inventor assigned patent rights to the original assignee.

  • 2019-02-28 (executed) / recorded 2019-02-28 — Reel 046524/0748

    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS)
    • Assignor: messageLOUD LLC
    • Assignee: MESSAGELOUD INC.
    • Correspondent: MICHAEL L. LOFARO, ESQ., 1221 E. Lincoln Highway, #332, Levittown, PA, 19056. This correspondent also appeared on the prior assignment in this chain.
    • Context: Internal reorganization / corporate structure change from LLC to Inc.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9591117
    2015 : Filed by Messageloud LLC
    2016 : Inventor assigned to Messageloud LLC
    2017 : Issued
    2019 : Assigned to Messageloud Inc
    2025 : PTAB case filed
    2026 : PTAB case terminated

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — unclear. The transition from "Messageloud LLC" to "MESSAGELOUD INC." (Reel 046524/0748) suggests a corporate restructuring rather than a transfer to a shell entity for licensing purposes. There is evidence of a product, the "messageLOUD® application," being offered.

  2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Neither "Messageloud LLC" nor "MESSAGELOUD INC." appear on common public NPE lists such as those maintained by RPX Insurance or Unified Patents, nor do they match the specific known asserters provided.

  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. MICHAEL L. LOFARO, ESQ., with the firm and address 1221 E. Lincoln Highway, #332, Levittown, PA, 19056, appears as the correspondent on both recorded assignments: Reel 038870/0413 and Reel 046524/0748.

  4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are only two assignments recorded, and they are separated by over two years.

  5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The assignments occurred in 2016 and 2019. The first recorded litigation (PTAB case IPR2025-01426, District Court cases 6:25-cv-00185 and 2:25-cv-00486) appears to have been filed in 2025. This timing does not suggest a transfer within 6 months before the first litigation.

  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication in the assignment records or publicly available information (such as SEC filings) that Messageloud LLC or Messageloud Inc. have undergone bankruptcy proceedings.

  7. Privateering — unclear. There is no publicly available information in the assignment records or general business searches to suggest an operating company has transferred the patent to an NPE for assertion against competitors on its behalf.

  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at any known defensive aggregators.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The consistent involvement of "Messageloud LLC" and "MESSAGELOUD INC." as assignees, coupled with the mention of the "messageLOUD® application" in the patent as a product, suggests an operating company. While a repeat correspondent (MICHAEL L. LOFARO, ESQ.) is noted across the assignments (Reel 038870/0413 and 046524/0748), this alone is not sufficient to definitively indicate an NPE without other stronger signals. The primary purpose of the entity appears to be developing and offering the described communication system. The active litigation, including the PTAB case filed by [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.), suggests assertion, likely by the operating company itself.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US9591117: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

Generated 5/23/2026, 2:36:11 AM