Assignment history

Inventors

• David K. Ahn (likely Centripetal Networks LLC)
• Keith A. George (likely Centripetal Networks LLC)
• Peter P. Geremia (likely Centripetal Networks LLC)
• Pierre Mallett, III (likely Centripetal Networks LLC)
• Sean Moore (likely Centripetal Networks LLC)
• Robert T. Perry (likely Centripetal Networks LLC)
• Jonathan R. Rogers (likely Centripetal Networks LLC)

All listed inventors were likely employees of Centripetal Networks LLC at the time of the application's filing, which is a common pattern for initial assignment of patent rights to the employing entity.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is Centripetal Networks LLC.

Centripetal Networks LLC (and its predecessor Centripetal Networks, Inc.) is a cybersecurity company that provides network threat detection and mitigation solutions. Their primary line of business involves high-performance packet filtering using real-time threat intelligence. Products like "RuleGate" and "CleanINTERNET" embody the claims of US 10,193,917 by implementing rule-based network threat detection to allow or block traffic based on threat indicators and provide actionable intelligence to users. The company is currently operating and actively engaged in patent assertion and defense.

Assignment timeline

• 2017-11-30 (executed) / recorded 2020-03-10 — Reel 046777/0055 (Associated with application US15/827,477, which issued as US10193917)

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Pierre Mallett, III, Keith A. George, Robert T. Perry, Sean Moore, Peter P. Geremia, David K. Ahn, Jonathan R. Rogers (all inventors)
  • Assignee: CENTRIPETAL NETWORKS, INC.
  • Correspondent: Matthew J. Zapf, Centripetal Networks, Inc., 1757 Business Center Dr., Suite 450, Reston, VA, 20190. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor rights from individual inventors to the corporate entity.

• 2023-01-17 (executed) / recorded 2023-01-23 — Reel 052445/0969

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: CENTRIPETAL NETWORKS, INC.
  • Assignee: CENTRIPETAL NETWORKS, LLC
  • Correspondent: Matthew J. Zapf, Centripetal Networks, LLC, 1757 Business Center Dr., Suite 450, Reston, VA, 20190. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal reorganization or change of name from "Inc." back to "LLC" as explicitly stated in the recording.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10193917
    2015 : Priority date
    2017 : Application filed
    2019 : Patent issued
    2020 : Inventors assign to Centripetal Inc
    2022 : First infringement suit filed
    2023 : Assigned to Centripetal LLC (name change)

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The assignees, Centripetal Networks, Inc. and Centripetal Networks, LLC, appear to be the same operating company undergoing a name/entity type change, as evidenced by the explicit "CHANGE OF NAME" context in the 2023 assignment. The company also markets and sells products embodying the claims.

2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Centripetal Networks, LLC is an operating company, not a recognized NPE from public lists like RPX or Unified Patents. While they are asserting this patent, they appear to be doing so as an operating entity.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Matthew J. Zapf of Centripetal Networks, Inc. / LLC is listed as the correspondent for both the 2020-03-10 assignment (Reel 046777/0055) and the 2023-01-23 assignment (Reel 052445/0969).

4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are only two transfers within the chain of ownership for the patent, one being an initial assignment from inventors and the other a corporate name change, neither suggesting rapid, multi-layered transfers to obscure ownership.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The first infringement suit, Centripetal Networks, LLC v. Keysight Technologies, Inc. (2:22-cv-00001), was filed on January 3, 2022. The 2020-03-10 assignment pre-dates this by more than six months. The 2023-01-23 assignment is after the suit filing. Given the corporate name change nature of the 2023 assignment, it is not clearly a pre-litigation transfer for assertion purposes.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for Centripetal Networks, Inc. or LLC.

7. Privateering — not present. Centripetal Networks appears to be directly asserting its own patents, not using a third-party NPE on its behalf.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent is currently owned by Centripetal Networks, LLC, which is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

This verdict is based on the patent's consistent ownership by Centripetal Networks, LLC (including its prior incarnation Centripetal Networks, Inc.) since its inception, with one recorded change being an explicit corporate name change [cite: 052445/0969]. The company develops and markets products directly related to the patent's claims, indicating its use for competitive enforcement rather than pure licensing by a non-practicing entity.
Verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/