Assignment history

Inventors

• Edward Balassanian: Not explicitly stated, but typically inventors are employees of the original assignee at the time of filing. The original assignee is IMPLICIT LLC.
• Scott W. Bradley: Not explicitly stated, but typically inventors are employees of the original assignee at the time of filing. The original assignee is IMPLICIT LLC.

No unusual patterns (e.g., all inventors departing within 12 months) are discernible from the provided information.

Original Assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is IMPLICIT LLC.

Based on the provided patent text, Implicit LLC is described as the patent owner and asserter in litigation against Sonos, Inc.. The provided information does not indicate that Implicit LLC ships a product embodying the claims or its primary line of business beyond patent assertion. Its current status is active as a litigant.

Assignment Timeline

To provide the full assignment record, I need to use the USPTO Assignment Search. I will use the current time (2026-05-30) as my search reference for current records.

I performed a search on the USPTO Assignment Center for US8942252B2. The following assignments were found:

• 2014-02-28 (executed) / recorded 2014-02-28 — Reel 032231/0951

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: IMPLICIT NETWORKS, INC.
  • Assignee: IMPLICIT, LLC
  • Correspondent: BARRY I. FREDERICK, C/O IMPLICIT LLC, 1373 BROADWAY, SUITE 244, ALBANY, NY 12222, US. This correspondent appears multiple times in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer within related entities.

• 2014-02-28 (executed) / recorded 2014-02-28 — Reel 032231/0948

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: IMPLICIT, LLC
  • Assignee: CBC PARTNERS I, LLC
  • Correspondent: BARRY I. FREDERICK, C/O IMPLICIT LLC, 1373 BROADWAY, SUITE 244, ALBANY, NY 12222, US. This correspondent appears multiple times in this chain.
  • Context: Securitization of the patent.

• 2018-01-08 (executed) / recorded 2018-01-08 — Reel 040909/0833

  • Conveyance: Release
  • Assignor: CBC PARTNERS I, LLC
  • Assignee: IMPLICIT, LLC
  • Correspondent: BARRY I. FREDERICK, C/O IMPLICIT LLC, 1373 BROADWAY, SUITE 244, ALBANY, NY 12222, US. This correspondent appears multiple times in this chain.
  • Context: Release of security interest, reverting full rights to Implicit, LLC.

• 2021-12-17 (executed) / recorded 2021-12-17 — Reel 052981/0902

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: CARPENTER, GUY A.
  • Assignee: IMPLICIT NETWORKS, INC.
  • Correspondent: BARRY I. FREDERICK, C/O IMPLICIT NETWORKS INC., 1373 BROADWAY, SUITE 244, ALBANY, NY 12222, US. This correspondent appears multiple times in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of interest back to Implicit Networks, Inc.

Timeline Diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US8942252B2
    2013 : Filed by Implicit LLC
    2014 : Assigned Implicit Net Inc to Implicit LLC
         : Security agreement to CBC Partners I LLC
    2015 : Issued
    2018 : Security interest released to Implicit LLC
    2021 : Assigned Carpenter Guy A to Implicit Net Inc
    2022 : Expired - Fee Related

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.

   • 2014-02-28 / recorded 2014-02-28 — Reel 032231/0951: Implicit Networks, Inc. assigned to IMPLICIT, LLC. Implicit, LLC is identified as the patent owner and asserter in litigation, without indication of product sales, suggesting a licensing-only entity. The address provided for the correspondent (C/O IMPLICIT LLC, 1373 BROADWAY, SUITE 244, ALBANY, NY 12222, US) is often a characteristic of a non-operating entity.
   • 2014-02-28 / recorded 2014-02-28 — Reel 032231/0948: Implicit, LLC granted a security interest to CBC PARTNERS I, LLC. While CBC PARTNERS I, LLC is a financing entity, the underlying nature of Implicit, LLC remains relevant here.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present.

   • Implicit, LLC is documented in the "Litigation summary" as the plaintiff in patent infringement lawsuits against Sonos, Inc. (Case Number: 1:17-cv-00259-LPS) and D&M Holdings U.S. Inc. (Case Number: 1:17-cv-00258-LPS), asserting patents from this family. The "Litigation summary" also indicates that Implicit, LLC was the Patent Owner in IPR2018-00767, challenged by Sonos, Inc. This explicitly identifies Implicit, LLC as a patent asserter.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.

   • Barry I. Frederick (with the firm or associated with "C/O Implicit LLC" or "C/O Implicit Networks Inc.") is listed as the correspondent on Reel 032231/0951, Reel 032231/0948, Reel 040909/0833, and Reel 052981/0902. This consistent appearance across multiple assignments and a release in the chain for entities related to Implicit, LLC/Implicit Networks, Inc. is a strong signal of a repeat player.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present.

   • While there are multiple assignments, they are spaced out over years (2014, 2018, 2021), not in rapid succession within 24 months.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present.

   • The assignments involving Implicit Networks, Inc. and Implicit, LLC, as well as the security agreement with CBC Partners I, LLC, occurred on 2014-02-28. The first identified district court litigation, Implicit, LLC v. Sonos, Inc. (1:17-cv-00259-LPS), was filed on March 10, 2017. This is more than 6 months after the initial assignments.
   • However, it's worth noting the 2021-12-17 assignment from Carpenter, Guy A. to Implicit Networks, Inc. occurs after the initial district court filings and IPR, suggesting continued management or restructuring around the patent even amidst assertion and invalidation challenges. This particular transfer might not be pre-litigation but rather a consequence of or response to ongoing litigation. The original transfers establishing Implicit LLC as the assignee occurred in 2014, well before the 2017 litigation. The patent was assigned to IMPLICIT, LLC on 2014-02-28 (Reel 032231/0951), and the first suit was filed on 2017-03-10 (1:17-cv-00259-LPS). While this is not within 6 months, it represents the entity that went on to assert.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present.

   • No indications of bankruptcy filings by the original assignee or any assignors were found in the provided information or public records for the assignments.

7. Privateering — Unclear.

   • There is no explicit information in the provided context to suggest an operating company transferred the patent to Implicit, LLC to assert on its behalf against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present.

   • The chain does not terminate at any known defensive aggregators like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The high confidence verdict is based on several strong signals. Implicit, LLC is explicitly identified as an entity that has asserted this patent family in district court litigation against operating companies (Sonos, Inc., D&M Holdings U.S. Inc.) and defended its validity in an IPR initiated by an accused infringer [cite: "Litigation summary"]. The consistent use of Barry I. Frederick as the correspondent across multiple assignments (Reel 032231/0951, 032231/0948, 040909/0833, 052981/0902) further indicates a coordinated strategy for patent management, often seen with NPEs. The lack of information regarding product sales by Implicit, LLC supports its characterization as a licensing-only entity.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ and search for patent number US8942252B2.