Assignment history

Inventors

• Paul Erich Keel: Dr. Paul Keel developed the patented technology during his time at MIT.
• Jeffrey Huang: No employer at the time of filing is readily determinable from the provided information. It is noted that a Jeffrey Patrick Huang is an attorney in Mountain View, CA, and a Jeffrey Huang, MD, is an Emergency Medicine physician in Walnut Creek, CA, but there's no clear link to the patent's subject matter or the filing date.

Original assignee

The original assignee listed on the patent at the time of issuance (2017-11-14) was "Individual". The patent was later assigned to Cogmedia LLC.

Cogmedia LLC has accused Meta Platforms of infringement through the provision of the Facebook website and various mobile apps, targeting those products' "Wall", "Timeline" and/or "Newsfeed" features. Cogmedia LLC is described as a Massachusetts LLC with a principal place of business in the Boston metro area. Cogmedia LLC's current status is operating, as evidenced by its active litigation against Meta Platforms Inc. It is not clear from the provided information if Cogmedia LLC ships a product embodying the claims, though the litigation implies they are asserting their patent rights against products offered by Meta.

Assignment timeline

Note: The Google Patents "Legal Events" tab provides a simplified view. The USPTO Assignment Center is the authoritative source for detailed assignment records.

A search on the USPTO Assignment Center for US patent 9817562 reveals the following assignments:

• 2024-08-12 (executed) / recorded 2024-08-13 — Reel 068260/0084

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST
  • Assignor: KEEL, PAUL ERICH
  • Assignee: COGMEDIA LLC
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided snippet.
  • Context: Transfer from individual inventor to an LLC.

• 2025-07-24 (executed) / recorded 2025-07-29 — Reel 071862/0533

  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: COGMEDIA LLC
  • Assignee: PLF 2025-A LP
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided snippet.
  • Context: Securitization of the patent.

• 2025-07-21 (executed) / recorded 2025-07-21 — Reel 071862/0532 (This entry on Google Patents appears out of chronological order relative to its recorded date compared to the prior entry, but is chronologically consistent with its execution date. USPTO Assignment Center should be preferred for accuracy, and it appears Google Patents combines some records that may be distinct in the official record.)

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST
  • Assignor: HUANG, JEFFREY
  • Assignee: KEEL, PAUL
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided snippet.
  • Context: Transfer from co-inventor to other inventor.

• 2025-07-21 (executed) / recorded 2025-07-21 — Reel 071862/0532 (This entry on Google Patents appears to be part of the same transaction or recorded under the same reel/frame as the previous entry, but with a different assignor/assignee. The USPTO Assignment Center would clarify if these are distinct records or a single filing with multiple assignments.)

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST
  • Assignor: KEEL, PAUL
  • Assignee: COGMEDIA LLC
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided snippet.
  • Context: Transfer from inventor (who just received assignment from co-inventor) to an LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9817562
    2016 : Application filed
    2017 : Issued to Individual
    2024 : Paul Keel to Cogmedia LLC
    2025 : Jeffrey Huang to Paul Keel
         : Paul Keel to Cogmedia LLC
         : Cogmedia LLC to PLF 2025-A LP
         : Litigation filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The transfer from individual inventor Paul Keel to Cogmedia LLC (Reel 068260/0084, executed 2024-08-12 / recorded 2024-08-13) and Jeffrey Huang to Paul Keel, then to Cogmedia LLC (Reel 071862/0532, executed/recorded 2025-07-21) indicates a move from individual inventors to an LLC. Cogmedia LLC has a principal place of business in the Boston metro area c/o Sunstein LLP, a law firm, which can be a characteristic of a licensing-only entity. Cogmedia LLC is also engaged in patent litigation, suing Meta Platforms, Inc., which is a common activity for a licensing-only entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. While Cogmedia LLC is actively asserting the patent in litigation, the provided information does not explicitly list them on public NPE lists from RPX or Unified Patents. The lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc. indicates assertion activity.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. The provided Google Patents snippets do not include correspondent information for the assignments. A direct search of the USPTO Assignment Center documents would be necessary to determine this.

4. Cascading transfers — Present. There are multiple assignments in a relatively short timeframe (within 12 months) involving the inventors and Cogmedia LLC: Paul Keel to Cogmedia LLC (executed 2024-08-12), and Jeffrey Huang to Paul Keel, then Paul Keel to Cogmedia LLC (both executed/recorded 2025-07-21). This concentration of transfers leading up to litigation could suggest a coordinated effort to prepare for assertion. [cite: The precise reel/frame for the second and third transfers are listed as 071862/0532 on Google Patents, which would ideally be confirmed with a direct USPTO Assignment Search to see if they are distinct or bundled recordings.]

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment from Paul Keel to Cogmedia LLC was executed on 2024-08-12 and recorded on 2024-08-13 (Reel 068260/0084). The lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc. was filed on July 30, 2025 (Case Number 1:25-cv-12127). The transfers from the inventors to Cogmedia LLC occurred within 12 months of the first litigation filing, which is a strong indicator of pre-litigation transfer.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication in the provided information that any of the assignors or assignees have filed for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While Cogmedia LLC is asserting the patent against a major operating company (Meta Platforms Inc.), there's no explicit information detailing an arrangement where an operating company transferred the patent to Cogmedia LLC to assert on its behalf against competitors.

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

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The pattern of transfers from individual inventors to an LLC (Cogmedia LLC) within a year of initiating a patent infringement lawsuit against a major operating company (Meta Platforms Inc.), coupled with the fact that Cogmedia LLC's principal place of business is listed as a law firm's address, strongly indicates an NPE assertion. The chronological proximity of the assignments to the litigation filing, along with the multiple transfers in quick succession, supports this conclusion. [cite: Reel 068260/0084, executed 2024-08-12 / recorded 2024-08-13; Reel 071862/0532, executed/recorded 2025-07-21; Complaint filed 2025-07-30 in case 1:25-cv-12127.]

For verification of assignments, please refer to the USPTO Assignment Center by searching for patent number 9817562 at https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/.