Assignment history

Inventors

• Kumiko Suzuki: Employer at time of filing was likely NEC Corporation, given that NEC Corporation was the original assignee.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is NEC Corporation. NEC Corporation is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, and their primary line of business includes IT services, network systems, and electronic devices. NEC Corporation is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2013-02-08 (executed) / recorded 2013-03-01 — Reel 029907/0358

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: SUZUKI, KUMIKO
  • Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: RUSH, PATRICIA A. (NEC CORPORATION OF AMERICA, 6535 N. ST. HWY 161, IRVING, TX, 75039)
  • Context: Transfer from inventor to original corporate assignee.

• 2023-04-14 (executed) / recorded 2023-04-17 — Reel 063349/0459

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: NEC CORPORATION
  • Assignee: NEC ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD.
  • Correspondent: BLANKENSHIP, BRUCE (NEC CORPORATION OF AMERICA, LEGAL DIVISION, 6535 N. ST. HWY 161, IRVING, TX, 75039)
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization/transfer.

• 2024-01-18 (executed) / recorded 2024-01-27 — Reel 066376/0276

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: NEC ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD.
  • Assignee: IP WAVE PTE LTD.
  • Correspondent: BLANKENSHIP, BRUCE (NEC CORPORATION OF AMERICA, LEGAL DIVISION, 6535 N. ST. HWY 161, IRVING, TX, 75039). This correspondent previously appeared on reel 063349/0459 for this patent.
  • Context: Transfer to a likely shell entity.

• 2024-03-05 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-27 — Reel 067944/0332

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: IP WAVE PTE LTD.
  • Assignee: CLOUD BYTE LLC.
  • Correspondent: LAW OFFICE OF ERIK S. ROTH (10 ROOSEVELT AVE, PORT JEFFERSON STAT, NY, 11776)
  • Context: Transfer to a likely shell entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9651320
    2013 : Filed by NEC Corp
    2017 : Issued
    2023 : Assigned to NEC Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
    2024 : Assigned to IP Wave Pte Ltd
         : Assigned to Cloud Byte LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present.

   • 2024-01-18 (executed) / recorded 2024-01-27 (Reel 066376/0276): NEC ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD. to IP WAVE PTE LTD. The name "IP WAVE PTE LTD." strongly suggests a licensing-only entity.
   • 2024-03-05 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-27 (Reel 067944/0332): IP WAVE PTE LTD. to CLOUD BYTE LLC. The name "CLOUD BYTE LLC" also suggests a shell entity, especially given the preceding transfer.

2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear. While the current assignee, Cloud Byte LLC, is involved in litigation according to Google Patents, it is not explicitly listed as a "known asserter" on the provided public NPE lists (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, etc.). Further investigation into Cloud Byte LLC's history would be needed to confirm if it is a high-frequency plaintiff.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present.

   • Bruce Blankenship (NEC CORPORATION OF AMERICA, LEGAL DIVISION) appears on reel 063349/0459 (2023-04-17) and reel 066376/0276 (2024-01-27). This indicates an internal or closely related legal team handling transfers for NEC and its direct successors.
   • A new correspondent, LAW OFFICE OF ERIK S. ROTH, appears for the transfer to CLOUD BYTE LLC on reel 067944/0332. Recurrence of this specific correspondent in other NPE assertion chains would be a stronger signal, but based on this patent alone, it's a new point of contact.

4. Cascading transfers — present.

   • There are two consecutive assignments within a short period:
     • 2024-01-18 (executed) to IP WAVE PTE LTD. (recorded 2024-01-27, Reel 066376/0276)
     • 2024-03-05 (executed) to CLOUD BYTE LLC. (recorded 2024-06-27, Reel 067944/0332)
   • These two transfers occurred within less than three months (execution dates), pointing to a rapid transfer of ownership between likely shell entities.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — present.

   • The assignment to CLOUD BYTE LLC was executed on 2024-03-05 and recorded on 2024-06-27 (Reel 067944/0332).
   • One of the US district court cases (2:24-cv-00637) was filed in the Texas Eastern District Court, indicating litigation activity around the same time or shortly after the final transfer. Another case, IPR2025-01288, was filed in 2025, also after the final assignment. The filing date of 2:24-cv-00637 is not precisely given in the provided text, but the year 2024 suggests it is either concurrent with or shortly after the assignment to Cloud Byte LLC.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. The original assignee, NEC Corporation, is currently operating, and there is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings in the assignment records.

7. Privateering — unclear. There is no explicit evidence in the assignment records or Google Patents description to suggest privateering.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with Cloud Byte LLC, which is involved in litigation, rather than a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The presence of multiple strong signals, including transfers to shell-like entities (IP WAVE PTE LTD. and CLOUD BYTE LLC. per reels 066376/0276 and 067944/0332), cascading transfers occurring within a short period, and a pre-litigation transfer to the current asserting entity strongly suggest an NPE pattern. The patent is actively involved in district court litigation (e.g., 2:24-cv-00637 in Texas Eastern District Court).

USPTO Assignment Center Search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/