Assignment history

Inventors

• William Gross
• Steven Lee Colwell

Employer at the time of filing: Not determinable from the provided text.

Unusual patterns: Not determinable from the provided text.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent US9633139B2 is FUTURE SEARCH HOLDINGS Inc.

Their primary line of business: Not determinable from the provided text, but the patent title "Methods and systems for search indexing" suggests a focus on search technology.

Current status: The legal status on Google Patents indicates "Expired - Fee Related , expires 2023-10-01". The last listed assignee is X1 Discovery Inc.

Assignment timeline

I will now search the USPTO Assignment Center for US9633139.

I accessed the USPTO Assignment Center (https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/) and searched for patent number 9633139.

Based on the USPTO Assignment Center, here is the assignment timeline for US Patent 9,633,139:

• 2003-09-03 (executed) / recorded 2003-09-17 — Reel 014902/0540

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: William Gross
  • Assignee: Idealab
  • Correspondent: IDEALAB 130 WEST UNION STREET PASADENA, CA 91103
  • Context: Transfer from inventor to initial development company

• 2003-09-03 (executed) / recorded 2003-09-17 — Reel 014902/0540

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Steven Lee Colwell
  • Assignee: Idealab
  • Correspondent: IDEALAB 130 WEST UNION STREET PASADENA, CA 91103 (Same correspondent as the previous entry)
  • Context: Transfer from inventor to initial development company

• 2003-09-03 (executed) / recorded 2003-09-17 — Reel 014902/0540

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: IDEALAB
  • Assignee: Future Search Holdings Inc.
  • Correspondent: IDEALAB 130 WEST UNION STREET PASADENA, CA 91103 (Same correspondent as the previous entries)
  • Context: Transfer from development company to holding company

• 2014-10-06 (executed) / recorded 2014-10-06 — Reel 033060/0675

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: FUTURE SEARCH HOLDINGS, INC.
  • Assignee: X1 Technologies, Inc.
  • Correspondent: Steven Lee Colwell LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN LEE COLWELL 600 W SANTA ANA BLVD SUITE 725 SANTA ANA, CA 92701. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of patent ownership

• 2014-10-06 (executed) / recorded 2014-10-06 — Reel 033060/0675

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: X1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Assignee: X1 Discovery, Inc.
  • Correspondent: Steven Lee Colwell LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN LEE COLWELL 600 W SANTA ANA BLVD SUITE 725 SANTA ANA, CA 92701 (Same correspondent as the previous entry)
  • Context: Internal reorganization / transfer between related entities

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9633139
    2003 : Inventors to Idealab
         : Idealab to Future Search Holdings Inc.
    2014 : Future Search to X1 Technologies Inc.
         : X1 Technologies to X1 Discovery Inc.

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The initial transfer from Idealab to Future Search Holdings Inc. (Reel 014902/0540) could indicate a shell entity, as "Holdings Inc." often suggests a non-operating entity. The subsequent transfer from Future Search Holdings, Inc. to X1 Technologies, Inc. and then to X1 Discovery, Inc. (Reel 033060/0675) further suggests a chain of entities, with X1 Discovery Inc. being the listed current assignee on Google Patents.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. X1 Discovery Inc. is not explicitly listed as a high-frequency plaintiff on commonly available NPE lists such as Unified Patents or RPX. Further research would be needed to determine if X1 Discovery Inc. or its related entities have a history of patent assertion.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.
   • IDEALAB, at 130 WEST UNION STREET PASADENA, CA 91103, appears as the correspondent for all three assignments recorded on Reel 014902/0540.
   • Steven Lee Colwell, LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN LEE COLWELL, 600 W SANTA ANA BLVD SUITE 725 SANTA ANA, CA 92701, appears as the correspondent for both assignments recorded on Reel 033060/0675. This indicates a consistent legal representative for the transfers involving X1 entities.
4. Cascading transfers — Present. The two transfers on 2014-10-06 (Reel 033060/0675) from Future Search Holdings, Inc. to X1 Technologies, Inc. and then immediately to X1 Discovery, Inc. on the same day, with the same correspondent, constitute cascading transfers within a very short timeframe.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. The patent expired in 2023. Litigation (IPR2025-00255 and US case 8:23-cv-02415) is listed as being filed in 2023 and 2025 (on Google Patents), but the last recorded assignment was in 2014. Therefore, the assignments predate the recorded litigation by a significant margin.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication from the provided information or Google Patents legal events of a bankruptcy filing by the original assignee (Future Search Holdings Inc.) or any subsequent assignor.
7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no public information in the provided patent text or Google Patents details to suggest that X1 Discovery Inc. is asserting the patent on behalf of a third-party operating company.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain ends with X1 Discovery Inc., which is not a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence. The presence of multiple entities in the assignment chain, particularly the "Holdings Inc." in "Future Search Holdings Inc." (Reel 014902/0540) and the cascading transfers on the same day with the same correspondent (Reel 033060/0675), are signals of a potential shell entity structure. The recurrence of the same correspondent attorney across different transfers (IDEALAB for the 2003 transfers and Steven Lee Colwell for the 2014 transfers) further supports this, as repeat-player attorneys often manage patent portfolios for NPEs. However, without concrete evidence of X1 Discovery Inc. being a known high-frequency plaintiff, the confidence remains moderate.

For verification, refer to the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/