Assignment history

Inventors

• Peter A. Mehring (Zest Labs Inc.)
• Thomas C. Reese (Zest Labs Inc.)
• Dean M. Kawaguchi (Zest Labs Inc.)
• Sameer Dekate (Zest Labs Inc.)
• Russell Shikami (Zest Labs Inc.)

It is assumed that the inventors were employed by Zest Labs Inc. (or its predecessor, Intelleflex Corporation) at the time of the patent application filing, as is common practice for inventor assignments to their employing entity.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is Zest Labs Inc.

Zest Labs Inc. developed "Zest Fresh Solution," a technology focused on post-harvest freshness management services and produce supply chain logistics. Their business involved dynamically predicting food expiration and reducing food waste using data analysis and machine learning. This aligns directly with the claims of US10423918, which describes actively managed food delivery using environmental monitoring and condition adjustments in product containers.

As of July 2025, Zest Labs Inc. (the food tech entity) settled a major trade secret lawsuit against Walmart, having previously been awarded a $222 million jury verdict. This demonstrates active assertion of its intellectual property. While one source indicates an acquisition by RiskOn International in 2013, later activities including the 2018-2025 litigation with Walmart suggest Zest Labs Inc. maintained its distinct identity and IP enforcement capabilities related to its food freshness technology. The current operating status as a product-shipping company is not definitively confirmed beyond the recent litigation.

Assignment timeline

• 2019-04-01 (executed) / recorded 2019-04-10 — Reel 050308/0744

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: KAWAGUCHI, DEAN M.; REESE, THOMAS C.; SHIKAMI, RUSSELL; DEKATE, SAMEER; MEHRING, PETER A.
  • Assignee: INTELLEFLEX CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: MARK J. SEABORN, 17950 PRESTON ROAD, SUITE 860, DALLAS, TX 75252.
  • Context: Assignment of patent rights from the inventors to Intelleflex Corporation.

• 2019-04-01 (executed) / recorded 2019-04-10 — Reel 050308/0746

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: INTELLEFLEX CORPORATION
  • Assignee: ZEST LABS, INC.
  • Correspondent: MARK J. SEABORN, 17950 PRESTON ROAD, SUITE 860, DALLAS, TX 75252. This correspondent also handled the prior recording for this patent chain.
  • Context: Corporate name change from Intelleflex Corporation to Zest Labs, Inc., confirming Zest Labs Inc. as the successor in interest.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10423918
    2015 : Priority date 2015-03-30
    2019 : Application filed 2019-03-21
         : Inventors assign to Intelleflex
         : Intelleflex becomes Zest Labs Inc
         : Patent issued 2019-09-24
    2025 : Settles suit against Walmart
    2026 : Patent active

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Unclear. The assignments show the inventors transferring rights to Intelleflex Corporation, which then changed its name to Zest Labs, Inc. (Reel 050308/0744, 050308/0746). While the initial entity, Intelleflex Corporation, is not fully detailed as an operating company, the subsequent entity, Zest Labs, Inc., was actively involved in developing and litigating technology related to the patent, suggesting it functioned as an operating or IP-holding company rather than a mere shell.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. Neither Intelleflex Corporation nor Zest Labs, Inc. appear on the provided list of known NPEs or major patent assertion entities. Zest Labs Inc. pursued a trade secret lawsuit against Walmart, which is characteristic of an entity protecting its core technology rather than a typical NPE model.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. Mark J. Seaborn is listed as the correspondent for both recorded assignments (Reel 050308/0744, 050308/0746). However, these two assignments are directly related to the initial transfer of rights from inventors and a corporate name change for a single entity. This is not indicative of a pattern of using the same correspondent for multiple, unrelated shell entities typically seen with NPEs.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There are only two recorded assignments, both executed and recorded on the same dates (2019-04-01 / 2019-04-10). These transfers represent the initial corporate structuring (inventor assignment and name change) and not a series of consecutive assignments through multiple chained LLCs within a short period.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. The patent application was filed on March 21, 2019, and the patent issued on September 24, 2019. The underlying litigation by Zest Labs against Walmart commenced in 2018. Since the lawsuit predates the filing and issuance of this specific patent, it cannot be considered a "pre-litigation transfer" for that particular case. The recorded assignments occurred after the litigation started but before the patent issued.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no evidence from the assignment records or search results suggesting that Zest Labs Inc. or Intelleflex Corporation underwent a bankruptcy proceeding that led to the transfer of this patent.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While Zest Labs Inc. was a technology developer that litigated against a larger company (Walmart), there is no public information to suggest that this patent was transferred to a third-party NPE to assert on Zest Labs' behalf. The litigation appears to have been directly conducted by Zest Labs, Inc.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently held by Zest Labs, Inc., which is not identified as a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion
The patent is currently held by Zest Labs Inc., an entity that developed and actively litigated its food freshness technology, including a significant trade secret lawsuit against Walmart. The assignment records (Reel 050308/0744 and 050308/0746) indicate an initial transfer from inventors to a corporate entity, followed by a name change to Zest Labs, Inc., consistent with an operating company's internal IP management. There are no strong signals of shell-entity transfers, known asserters, or other NPE patterns.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US10423918: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/assignment-result-detail.html?patentnumber=US10423918