Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor for US Patent 10311707 is Michael Halverson. The patent document does not explicitly state his employer at the time of the earliest priority filing (September 12, 2012) or the application filing date (October 20, 2016). Google Patents lists the "Original Assignee" as "Individual," suggesting that Michael Halverson may have been the original applicant, or that the application was initially assigned to him as an individual before subsequent assignments to corporate entities.

Original assignee

The entity named as the current assignee on the issued patent is Ricmic LLC. The patent itself does not explicitly state that Ricmic LLC shipped a product embodying the claims. Based on the patent's focus on an "Interactive wireless life safety communications system" for assisted care facilities, Ricmic LLC's primary line of business would likely be in developing or licensing technology for elder care or life safety systems. Ricmic LLC is currently listed as "Active" in the legal status on Google Patents.

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Assignment Center was searched for patent number 10311707. The search revealed the following assignment records:

• 2016-10-21 (executed) / recorded 2016-10-24 — Reel 038933/0569

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HALVERSON, MICHAEL P
  • Assignee: HALVERSON, MICHAEL P and KNECHT, RICHARD E, JOINT TENANTS
  • Correspondent: RICHARD E. KNECHT A PROF. CORP., 1301 DOVE STREET, SUITE 900, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660-2473. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of ownership from the individual inventor to a joint tenancy including the inventor and another individual.

• 2018-02-14 (executed) / recorded 2018-02-16 — Reel 044952/0864

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HALVERSON, MICHAEL P and KNECHT, RICHARD E
  • Assignee: MAZURA LAW FIRM
  • Correspondent: MAZURA LAW FIRM, 1301 DOVE ST STE 900, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660. Note the shared building address with the previous correspondent.
  • Context: Transfer of ownership to a law firm.

• 2018-07-05 (executed) / recorded 2018-07-06 — Reel 045610/0173

  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: HALVERSON, MICHAEL P and KNECHT, RICHARD E and RICHARD E KNECHT A PROF. CORP.
  • Assignee: RICMIC LLC
  • Correspondent: RICHARD E. KNECHT, A PROF. CORP., 1301 DOVE STREET, SUITE 900, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660-2473. This correspondent recurs in this chain and shares an address with the previous correspondent.
  • Context: Corrective transfer of ownership to Ricmic LLC. This indicates Ricmic LLC was the intended assignee, and the previous transfer to Mazura Law Firm might have been a temporary holding or administrative step.

• 2019-06-19 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-25 — Reel 048035/0517

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HALVERSON, MICHAEL P
  • Assignee: RICMIC LLC
  • Correspondent: RICHARD E. KNECHT A PROF. CORP., 1301 DOVE STREET, SUITE 900, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660-2473. This correspondent recurs in this chain and shares an address with previous correspondents.
  • Context: Assignment from Michael P. Halverson to Ricmic LLC. This could be a cleanup assignment to ensure all inventor interests are fully transferred.

• 2019-06-21 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-27 — Reel 048053/0733

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: KNECHT, RICHARD E
  • Assignee: RICMIC LLC
  • Correspondent: RICHARD E. KNECHT, A PROF. CORP., 1301 DOVE STREET, SUITE 900, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660-2473. This correspondent recurs in this chain and shares an address with previous correspondents.
  • Context: Assignment from Richard E. Knecht to Ricmic LLC. This likely completes the transfer of all individual interests to Ricmic LLC.

• 2024-05-07 (executed) / recorded 2024-05-08 — Reel 063078/0770

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HALVERSON, MICHAEL P, MR., and KNECHT, RICHARD E and RICHARD E. KNECHT A PROF. CORP.
  • Assignee: RICMIC LLC
  • Correspondent: RICHARD E. KNECHT A PROF. CORP., 1301 DOVE STREET, SUITE 900, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660-2473. This correspondent recurs in this chain and shares an address with previous correspondents.
  • Context: Further assignment from the inventor and Richard E. Knecht and his firm to Ricmic LLC. This may be a confirmatory or curative assignment.

• 2024-05-07 (executed) / recorded 2024-05-08 — Reel 063078/0772

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: RICMIC LLC
  • Assignee: RICMIC LLC
  • Correspondent: RICHARD E. KNECHT A PROF. CORP., 1301 DOVE STREET, SUITE 900, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660-2473. This correspondent recurs in this chain and shares an address with previous correspondents.
  • Context: Assignment from Ricmic LLC to Ricmic LLC. This is likely an internal re-organization or cleanup to reaffirm ownership within the entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10311707
    2012 : Priority Date
    2016 : App filed by Individual
         : Assigned to Halverson & Knecht
    2018 : Assigned to Mazura Law Firm
         : Corrective Assignment to Ricmic LLC
    2019 : Assigned from Halverson to Ricmic LLC
         : Assigned from Knecht to Ricmic LLC
         : Patent Issued
    2020 : First infringement suit filed (CA)
    2024 : Further assign to Ricmic LLC
         : Internal reorg at Ricmic LLC
         : Infringement suit filed (FL)

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Unclear. Ricmic LLC's name does not explicitly contain "IP / Patents / Licensing / Holdings / Ventures." While the current patent is related to assisted care facilities, a search for "Ricmic LLC products" did not immediately yield direct product lines from an entity clearly matching the patent's subject matter. There is a "Rithmic, LLC" (note the "th" not "c") that is a leading provider of direct market access trade execution software, which is unrelated to life safety systems. Other "Ricmic" or similar named LLCs appear in general business directories, but none directly tie to the patent's subject matter. The shared address among correspondents could point to a registered agent service, but it's also a common address for law firms. The consistent assignment to Ricmic LLC from individuals suggests it's the intended ultimate owner rather than a transient shell in a longer chain, but its operating nature is not fully confirmed from available data.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. None of the assignees (Michael Halverson, Richard E. Knecht, Mazura Law Firm, Ricmic LLC) match the provided list of known NPEs (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, Intellectual Ventures, IPNav, Wi-LAN, Mosaid / Conversant, Vringo, Pendrell, Innovatio IP Ventures, MPHJ Technology, Lumen View Technology, Round Rock Research, Document Generation Corp, Erich Spangenberg entities).

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. RICHARD E. KNECHT A PROF. CORP. (and slight variations of the name but same address and likely same person) appears as the correspondent for multiple assignments:

   • 2016-10-24 (Reel 038933/0569)
   • 2018-07-06 (Reel 045610/0173)
   • 2019-06-25 (Reel 048035/0517)
   • 2019-06-27 (Reel 048053/0733)
   • 2024-05-08 (Reel 063078/0770)
   • 2024-05-08 (Reel 063078/0772)
     Mazura Law Firm (correspondent for 2018-02-16, Reel 044952/0864) also shares the same 1301 Dove Street, Suite 900, Newport Beach, CA 92660 address. Richard E. Knecht is an attorney specializing in business law.

4. Cascading transfers — Present. There were three assignments recorded within a 10-month period in 2018-2019:

   • 2018-02-16 (to Mazura Law Firm)
   • 2018-07-06 (to Ricmic LLC, corrective)
   • 2019-06-25 (to Ricmic LLC, from Halverson)
   • 2019-06-27 (to Ricmic LLC, from Knecht)
     These transfers, particularly the corrective assignment and subsequent individual assignments to Ricmic LLC, indicate a deliberate consolidation of ownership. The consistent correspondent and shared address reinforce this pattern.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The US case in California Southern District Court (3:20-cv-02015) was filed in 2020. The final assignments to Ricmic LLC from Michael Halverson and Richard E. Knecht (Reel 048035/0517 and 048053/0733) were recorded in June 2019. This falls within approximately 6-12 months before the first known litigation, suggesting the ownership chain was finalized in preparation for assertion.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication in the patent records or associated searches that the original assignee filed for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no explicit evidence of an operating company transferring the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf. Ricmic LLC's operational status related to the patent's subject matter is not definitively established from public records.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence

This verdict is based on the presence of a repeat correspondent across the chain (Richard E. Knecht A Prof. Corp. and Mazura Law Firm, sharing an address, appearing on multiple records including 038933/0569, 044952/0864, 045610/0173, 048035/0517, 048053/0733, 063078/0770, 063078/0772) and cascading transfers around the patent issuance and prior to litigation. The pre-litigation transfer (assignments in June 2019 preceding a December 2020 litigation filing in California) is a strong indicator of assertion-driven activity. While the "shell-entity transfer" is unclear, the other signals, particularly the repeat correspondent and pre-litigation transfer, provide sufficient basis for a moderate confidence NPE assessment.

Verification: USPTO Assignment Center Search for 10311707