Assignment history

Inventors

• Matthew SZYMCZYK (Employer: ZUGARA Inc. at time of filing)
• Aaron Von Hungen (Employer: ZUGARA Inc. at time of filing)
• Blake Callens (Employer: ZUGARA Inc. at time of filing)
• Hans Forsman (Employer: ZUGARA Inc. at time of filing)
• Jack Benoff (Employer: ZUGARA Inc. at time of filing)

It is highly probable that all inventors were employed by ZUGARA Inc. at the time of filing, as Matthew Szymczyk is listed as the CEO of Zugara, and the patent was originally assigned to Zugara Inc. upon its application.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is ZUGARA Inc., an American corporation headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

• Shipped a product embodying the claims: Yes. Zugara Inc. has developed and licensed Augmented Reality (AR) and Computer Vision software, including its "Virtual Dressing Room" platform, which offers products like "Webcam Social Shopper (WSS)" for web and kiosks, and "Virtual Style Sense (VSS)" for in-store retail. These products directly embody the patent's claims by enabling users to virtually try on garments and accessories using a composite video feed. Their technology has been licensed by numerous brands globally, including Lands' End, Golfino, Delta Airlines, PayPal, and Mattel.
• Primary line of business: Zugara Inc. specializes in developing and licensing AR and Computer Vision software solutions focused on natural user interfaces and solving industry-specific problems, particularly for virtual try-on experiences in retail.
• Current status: Operating. The company continues to announce news and blog posts as recently as January 2025, and current litigation against Chanel was reported in July 2025. Owler lists Zugara's company profile as of March 9, 2026.

Assignment timeline

• 2015-11-09 (executed) / recorded 2015-11-17 — Reel 034079/0177
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: SZYMCZYK, MATTHEW; BENOFF, JACK; CALLENS, BLAKE; FORSMAN, HANS; VON HUNGEN, AARON
  • Assignee: ZUGARA, INC.
  • Correspondent: ROBERT J. STUMPF, JR.; THE LAW OFFICES OF ROBERT J. STUMPF, JR., P.C.; 401 IRVINE CENTER, SUITE 200; IRVINE CA 92618.
  • Context: Initial assignment from the inventors to the founding company.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10482517
    2009 : Priority date
    2015 : Inventors assign to Zugara Inc
         : Application filed
    2019 : Patent issued to Zugara Inc
    2025 : Litigation against Chanel filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The patent was initially assigned from the inventors to Zugara Inc., which is an operating company with identifiable products and customers in the Augmented Reality and virtual try-on market.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Zugara Inc. is an operating company that develops and licenses AR/VR software and is not widely recognized as a patent assertion entity (PAE) or known asserter by organizations like RPX or Unified Patents.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. Only one assignment record exists for this patent from the inventors to Zugara Inc. (Reel 034079/0177). Without further assignment records or a broader search of the correspondent's activity across other patent portfolios, it's not possible to determine if ROBERT J. STUMPF, JR. is a repeat player in assertion-related transfers.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one recorded assignment from the inventors to the operating company.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The initial assignment from the inventors to Zugara Inc. occurred in 2015, and the patent was issued in 2019. Litigation against Chanel was reported in July 2025. There is no evidence of a transfer of ownership within six months prior to the reported litigation, which is the typical indicator for this signal.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no information suggesting that Zugara Inc. has undergone bankruptcy proceedings or that this patent was sold as part of such an event.
7. Privateering — not present. There is no indication that Zugara Inc. transferred the patent to a separate NPE to assert on its behalf. Zugara Inc. appears to be directly asserting its own patents.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent is actively being asserted by Zugara Inc., not held by a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

The patent is currently owned by the original assignee, ZUGARA Inc., which is an operating company actively developing and licensing augmented reality software, including "virtual dressing room" products that embody the patent's claims. Zugara Inc. has initiated infringement lawsuits against companies like Chanel, indicating an assertion strategy by an operating entity rather than a shell company. The single recorded assignment, Reel 034079/0177, is from the inventors to Zugara Inc., which is consistent with an operating company owning its foundational intellectual property.

USPTO Assignment Center Search for US10482517