Assignment history

Inventors

The named inventors for US patent 10327511 are Jack Boys, Ann Bono, Aubert Shepherd, and Mattias Verfl. At the time of filing on 2016-07-08, they were presumably employed by Cole Haan LLC, the original assignee. There is no information in the provided text to suggest that any inventors departed the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee on record is Cole Haan LLC. They are a well-known operating company primarily engaged in the design, manufacturing, and retail of footwear and accessories. Cole Haan LLC ships products embodying the claims of US10327511. Cole Haan LLC is currently an active operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2016-08-18 to 2016-08-23 (executed) / recorded 2016-08-24 — Reel 039528/0510

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: Jack Boys, Ann Bono, Aubert Shepherd, Mattias Verfl
  • Assignee: Cole Haan LLC, New York
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided record.
  • Context: Original assignment of patent rights from the inventors to the company.

• 2019-02-12 (executed) / recorded 2019-02-15 — Reel 048355/0667

  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: Cole Haan LLC
  • Assignee: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Illinois
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided record.
  • Context: Patent pledged as collateral for a loan (securitization).

• 2020-06-30 (executed) / recorded 2020-07-01 — Reel 053100/0028

  • Conveyance: PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: Cole Haan LLC
  • Assignee: Alter Domus (US) LLC, As Collateral Agent, Illinois
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided record.
  • Context: Patent pledged as collateral, with Alter Domus acting as a collateral agent (securitization).

• 2020-09-14 (executed) / recorded 2020-09-14 — Reel 053770/0204

  • Conveyance: SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: Cole Haan LLC
  • Assignee: Bank of America, N.A., Massachusetts
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided record.
  • Context: Patent pledged as collateral for a loan (securitization).

• 2023-08-15 (executed) / recorded 2023-08-15 — Reel 064599/0780

  • Conveyance: RELEASE BY SECURED PARTY
  • Assignor: Alter Domus (US) LLC, As Collateral Agent
  • Assignee: Cole Haan LLC, New Hampshire
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided record.
  • Context: Release of security interest from Alter Domus back to Cole Haan.

• 2023-08-15 (executed) / recorded 2023-08-15 — Reel 064599/0077

  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: Cole Haan LLC
  • Assignee: Acquiom Agency Services LLC, As Collateral Agent, Colorado
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided record.
  • Context: New security interest granted by Cole Haan to Acquiom Agency Services (securitization).

• 2023-08-16 (executed) / recorded 2023-08-16 — Reel 048355/0667 (referencing the original security interest recorded on 2019-02-15)

  • Conveyance: RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST RECORDED FEBRUARY 15, 2019
  • Assignor: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
  • Assignee: Cole Haan LLC, New Hampshire
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided record.
  • Context: Release of security interest from JPMorgan Chase back to Cole Haan.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10327511
    2016 : Inventors assigned to Cole Haan
    2019 : Security interest to JPMorgan
    2019 : Patent granted
    2020 : Sec interest to Alter Domus
         : Sec interest to Bank of America
    2023 : Release by Alter Domus to Cole Haan
         : Sec interest to Acquiom
         : Release by JPMorgan to Cole Haan

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. All recorded assignees are either the operating company Cole Haan LLC, or recognized financial institutions/collateral agents (JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Alter Domus (US) LLC, Bank of America, N.A., Acquiom Agency Services LLC). There is no evidence of a transfer to a licensing-only shell entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. None of the financial institutions or collateral agents in the assignment chain are known patent assertion entities (NPEs).

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. The correspondent information (attorney name, firm, address) is not specified in the provided "Legal Events" section for any of the recorded assignments. Therefore, this signal cannot be evaluated.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. The transfers primarily involve security interests and their subsequent releases, which represent financial transactions rather than successive changes in primary ownership between different entities.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The most recent recorded assignments (2023) involve security interests and releases. The litigation events mentioned (PTAB case IPR2025-01392, US cases in New Jersey and Illinois District Courts in 2025) occurred after these recorded assignments. The assignments do not appear to be strategically timed to precede an initial assertion campaign.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Cole Haan LLC remains an active operating company, and the assignments do not indicate any bankruptcy proceedings.

7. Privateering — not present. There is no information to suggest Cole Haan LLC has transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent has not been assigned to a defensive aggregator such as RPX or Allied Security Trust.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The patent is currently owned by Cole Haan LLC, an active operating company that manufactures and sells footwear products. The recorded assignments are primarily security interests granted to financial institutions and subsequent releases, which are typical financing activities for operating businesses. The patent has been involved in litigation (e.g., IPR2025-01392, US district court cases in 2025), which, given the operating company status of Cole Haan, indicates an assertion or defense by an operating company against competitors, rather than an NPE.

USPTO Assignment Center search page for US10327511: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patents/10327511