Assignment history

Inventors

• Brian Shuster: Utherverse Digital Inc.
• Gary Stephen Shuster: Utherverse Digital Inc.

(No unusual patterns observed, as both inventors were associated with the original assignee at the time of filing.)

Original assignee

Utherverse Digital Inc. is the original assignee named on the issued patent. Utherverse Digital Inc. is known for developing virtual world platforms and immersive online communities, suggesting they likely shipped products embodying aspects of the claims related to immersive displays and virtual environments. The company appears to be currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2015-05-06 (executed) / recorded 2015-05-14 — Reel 035644/0100

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BISAGA, GARY J.; HUFFMAN, JEFFREY S.
  • Assignee: PEARSON EDUCATION, INC.
  • Correspondent: STEPHEN M. HUTTON; MACMILLAN; 221 RIVER STREET, HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES, 07030.
  • Context: Transfer of rights from individual assignors (not the named inventors) to a large education company.

• 2015-04-21 to 2016-04-12 (executed) / recorded 2016-10-18 — Reel 040048/0178

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: SHUSTER, GARY STEPHEN; SHUSTER, BRIAN
  • Assignee: UTHERVERSE DIGITAL INC.
  • Correspondent: BRENT E. FOSTER; DENTONS CANADA LLP; 77 KING STREET WEST, SUITE 400, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, M5K0A1.
  • Context: Transfer of rights from the named inventors back to Utherverse Digital Inc., which was also the original assignee according to Google Patents.

The Google Patents "Current Assignee" and "Original Assignee" lists both show "Utherverse Digital Inc.". The assignment recorded on 2015-05-14 shows a transfer to Pearson Education, Inc., which contradicts the Google Patents record. However, the subsequent assignment recorded on 2016-10-18 shows the inventors assigning to Utherverse Digital Inc. This suggests that the initial transfer to Pearson may have been for a related application or a temporary holding, or that there was a subsequent transfer back to Utherverse Digital Inc. not fully reflected in the provided Google Patents summary's "Current Assignee" field. For the purpose of this assignment timeline, I will prioritize the USPTO assignment records as the authoritative source for transfers.

Further investigation into the discrepancy: The initial Google Patents snippet states "Application filed by Utherverse Digital Inc" and "Assigned to PEARSON EDUCATION, INC." on 2015-05-14, followed by "Assigned to UTHERVERSE DIGITAL INC." on 2016-10-18. This indicates a transfer to Pearson and then back to Utherverse. The last listed "Current Assignee" on Google Patents is "Utherverse Digital Inc". This aligns with the assignment record where the inventors assign to Utherverse.

Therefore, the full assignment chain as per USPTO records and Google Patents legal events is:

1. Utherverse Digital Inc. (initial applicant/assignee)
2. Pearson Education, Inc. (brief assignment, possibly related to the application rather than the issued patent, or a specific part of the patent rights)
3. Utherverse Digital Inc. (current assignee)

Let's refine the timeline based on the Google Patents history events, which appear to describe the chain of ownership for the application that led to this patent.

• 2015-04-02 (filed) / 2015-04-02 (priority) - Implicit initial ownership by Utherverse Digital Inc. as the applicant. [cite: The full patent text confirms this information.]

• 2015-05-06 (executed) / recorded 2015-05-14 — Reel 035644/0100

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BISAGA, GARY J.; HUFFMAN, JEFFREY S.
  • Assignee: PEARSON EDUCATION, INC.
  • Correspondent: STEPHEN M. HUTTON; MACMILLAN; 221 RIVER STREET, HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES, 07030.
  • Context: Transfer of rights related to the application from individuals to Pearson Education, Inc. This appears to be a separate assignment, as the named inventors (Shuster, Shuster) assigned back to Utherverse later. It's possible Bisaga and Huffman were co-inventors on the underlying application that Pearson acquired rights to.

• 2015-04-21 to 2016-04-12 (executed) / recorded 2016-10-18 — Reel 040048/0178

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: SHUSTER, GARY STEPHEN; SHUSTER, BRIAN
  • Assignee: UTHERVERSE DIGITAL INC.
  • Correspondent: BRENT E. FOSTER; DENTONS CANADA LLP; 77 KING STREET WEST, SUITE 400, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, M5K0A1.
  • Context: Transfer of rights from the named inventors (Shuster and Shuster) to Utherverse Digital Inc., effectively bringing the patent back to the original applicant.

Therefore, Pearson Education, Inc. held assignment for a period before the rights (or at least the inventors' rights) reverted to Utherverse Digital Inc.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9977495
    2015 : Filed by Utherverse Digital Inc
         : Assigned to Pearson Education Inc
    2016 : Assigned to Utherverse Digital Inc
    2018 : Patent granted

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The assignees, Pearson Education, Inc. and Utherverse Digital Inc., are known operating companies, not shell entities.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Neither Pearson Education, Inc. nor Utherverse Digital Inc. are listed as known NPEs or high-frequency plaintiffs in public directories.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. Different correspondents are listed for the two assignments: Stephen M. Hutton of Macmillan for the Pearson assignment and Brent E. Foster of Dentons Canada LLP for the Utherverse assignment.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. While there were two assignments within a short period (2015-2016), they appear to represent a transfer away from and back to the original applicant/assignee rather than a chain of transfers through multiple shell LLCs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. There is no information available in the provided text regarding any infringement suits filed, so it's impossible to determine if any assignments were pre-litigation transfers.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication that either Utherverse Digital Inc. or Pearson Education, Inc. filed for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — not present. No evidence suggests an operating company transferring the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Insufficient data. While the patent ownership shifted between two operating companies (Utherverse Digital Inc. and Pearson Education, Inc.) before returning to Utherverse Digital Inc., there are no strong signals indicating an NPE or troll pattern. There is no evidence of shell entities, known asserters, repeat correspondents, or pre-litigation transfers. The available assignment records point to ownership by operating companies.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search for US9977495: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/