Assignment history

Inventors

• Ahmnon D. Moskowitz (No employer listed, likely associated with Moskowitz Family LLC)
• Mosheh T. Moskowitz (No employer listed, likely associated with Moskowitz Family LLC)
• Pablo A. Valdivia Y. Alvarado (No employer listed, likely associated with Moskowitz Family LLC)
• Eric Sugalski (No employer listed, likely associated with Moskowitz Family LLC)
• Nathan C. Moskowitz (No employer listed, identified as a neurosurgeon and lead inventor for Moskowitz Family LLC patents)

All inventors appear to be associated with the Moskowitz Family LLC, an entity formed by lead inventor Dr. Nathan C. Moskowitz. There is no indication of inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent as the original assignee is Moskowitz Family LLC.

• Shipped a product embodying the claims: No. Moskowitz Family LLC functions as an "IP holding entity" and was formed "to develop human spine related devices and protect and license any resulting inventions and intellectual property". There is no evidence suggesting they manufacture or sell medical devices themselves.
• Primary line of business: Patent holding, licensing, and assertion related to spinal surgery devices and systems.
• Current status: Operating and actively engaged in patent litigation.

Assignment timeline

• 2018-05-25 (executed) / recorded 2018-06-05 — Reel 039750/0695

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: MOSKOWITZ, ERIC SUGALSKI PABLO A. VALDIVIA Y. ALVARADO AHMNON D. MOSKOWITZ MOSHEH T. MOSKOWITZ NATHAN C.
  • Assignee: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC
  • Correspondent: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC, David Schoon, P.O. BOX 1229, SANTA MONICA, CA 90406. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Inventors formally assign patent rights to the Moskowitz Family LLC.

• 2021-07-29 (executed) / recorded 2021-09-02 — Reel 041846/0975

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: SCHOON, DAVID
  • Assignee: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC
  • Correspondent: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC, DAVID SCHOON, PO BOX 1229, SANTA MONICA CA 90406. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of rights to the Moskowitz Family LLC.

• 2021-07-29 (executed) / recorded 2021-09-02 — Reel 041846/0978

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: MOSKOWITZ, AHMNON D.
  • Assignee: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC
  • Correspondent: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC, DAVID SCHOON, PO BOX 1229, SANTA MONICA CA 90406. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Inventor Ahmnon D. Moskowitz formally assigns patent rights to the Moskowitz Family LLC.

• 2021-07-29 (executed) / recorded 2021-09-02 — Reel 041846/0981

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: MOSKOWITZ, MOSHEH T.
  • Assignee: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC
  • Correspondent: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC, DAVID SCHOON, PO BOX 1229, SANTA MONICA CA 90406. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Inventor Mosheh T. Moskowitz formally assigns patent rights to the Moskowitz Family LLC.

• 2021-07-29 (executed) / recorded 2021-09-02 — Reel 041846/0984

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: ALVARADO, PABLO A. VALDIVIA Y.
  • Assignee: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC
  • Correspondent: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC, DAVID SCHOON, PO BOX 1229, SANTA MONICA CA 90406. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Inventor Pablo A. Valdivia Y. Alvarado formally assigns patent rights to the Moskowitz Family LLC.

• 2021-07-29 (executed) / recorded 2021-09-02 — Reel 041846/0987

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: SUGALSKI, ERIC
  • Assignee: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC
  • Correspondent: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC, DAVID SCHOON, PO BOX 1229, SANTA MONICA CA 90406. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Inventor Eric Sugalski formally assigns patent rights to the Moskowitz Family LLC.

• 2021-07-29 (executed) / recorded 2021-09-02 — Reel 041846/0990

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: MOSKOWITZ, NATHAN C.
  • Assignee: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC
  • Correspondent: MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC, DAVID SCHOON, PO BOX 1229, SANTA MONICA CA 90406. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Inventor Nathan C. Moskowitz formally assigns patent rights to the Moskowitz Family LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10016284
    2017 : Filed by Moskowitz Family LLC
    2018 : Inventors assign to Moskowitz Family LLC
         : Patent granted
    2021 : Various individuals assign to Moskowitz Family LLC
    2025 : First infringement suit filed (Medtronic)
    2026 : IPR filed (Pending)

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The Moskowitz Family LLC is explicitly identified as an "IP holding entity" and was formed with the purpose "to develop human spine related devices and protect and license any resulting inventions and intellectual property". There is no indication of product sales or manufacturing by the LLC. The assignments (Reel 039750/0695, Reel 041846/0975-0990) reflect the consolidation of inventor interests into this entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Moskowitz Family LLC has initiated patent infringement lawsuits against major medical device companies, including Medtronic and Globus Medical. Case filings in Delaware District Court (1:25-cv-00711) and Minnesota District Court (0:25-cv-00769) are active.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. David Schoon, listed with the firm "MOSKOWITZ FAMILY LLC" and address "P.O. BOX 1229, SANTA MONICA, CA 90406," is the correspondent of record for all recorded assignments: Reel 039750/0695 (recorded 2018-06-05) and Reels 041846/0975 through 041846/0990 (recorded 2021-09-02).
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. The assignments are primarily from individual inventors and one other individual to the Moskowitz Family LLC, rather than multiple transfers through chained LLCs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. The patent was granted on July 10, 2018. The earliest known infringement suit against Globus Medical was filed in 2019 (Moskowitz Family LLC v. Globus Medical Inc., case number 2:20-cv-03271, filed July 6, 2020, but the search snippet says "Moskowitz first filed suit against Globus for infringing its patents in 2019"). The main inventor assignment (Reel 039750/0695, executed 2018-05-25, recorded 2018-06-05) occurred shortly before the patent issued and before the first known litigation, but not strictly within 6 months of the 2019 filing. The 2021 assignments (Reel 041846/0975-0990) occurred after the initial Globus litigation was underway and before the Medtronic litigation (0:25-cv-00769).
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence of bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While Dr. Nathan C. Moskowitz, a neurosurgeon, is the lead inventor and formed the LLC, there's no explicit evidence that an operating medical device company transferred the patents to Moskowitz Family LLC for assertion against competitors. The LLC appears to be a direct vehicle for Dr. Moskowitz's IP.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The current assignee, Moskowitz Family LLC, is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

Moskowitz Family LLC is explicitly identified as an "IP holding entity" that does not produce goods, and has a history of asserting its patent portfolio against large medical device manufacturers such as Medtronic and Globus Medical. The consistent use of David Schoon as the correspondent across all recorded assignments (Reel 039750/0695 and Reels 041846/0975-0990) further reinforces the pattern of a centralized patent assertion operation.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US10016284