Assignment history

Inventors

• Robert Michael Lipman (Employer not determinable from the patent text)
• Sarah Michelle Lipman (Employer not determinable from the patent text)

No unusual patterns observed regarding inventor departures, as employer information at the time of filing is not readily available in the patent text.

Original assignee

Power2B Inc. is the original assignee named on the issued patent.
The patent describes an "Input system for controlling electronic device" intended for small, hand-held computer devices such as pocket organizers, PDAs, and mobile communication devices. It is unclear from the patent text or readily available public information whether Power2B Inc. directly shipped a product embodying the claims. The primary line of business for Power2B Inc. appears to be related to intellectual property, given its role as assignee and its involvement in patent litigation as indicated in the Google Patents legal events.

According to Google Patents, the legal status of US10664070B2 is "Expired - Lifetime". The current status of Power2B Inc. as an operating company is not definitively stated in the provided information, but its involvement in multiple litigation events suggests an active role in asserting its intellectual property.

Assignment timeline

• 2007-07-19 (executed) / recorded 2020-04-13 — Reel 052385/0885
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: LIPMAN, ROBERT MICHAEL; LIPMAN, SARAH MICHELLE
  • Assignee: POWER2B, INC., CALIFORNIA
  • Correspondent: Not recorded in Google Patents.
  • Context: Transfer from inventors to an entity (Power2B Inc.).

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10664070
    2002 : Priority claimed
    2018 : Application filed by Power2B Inc
    2020 : Issued to Power2B Inc
         : Inventors assigned to Power2B Inc
    2022 : PTAB case IPR2022-00315 filed
    2023 : Anticipated expiration

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Unclear. The assignment from the individual inventors to Power2B, Inc. is a standard initial transfer. While Power2B, Inc. has a name suggesting an operating company, its product shipping status is unknown. We cannot confirm if it's a shell entity without more information about its operations and address. The legal events show multiple litigation cases, suggesting an assertion-focused strategy.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Unified Patents has recorded PTAB case IPR2022-00315 against US10664070, with SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., AND SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS AMERICA, INC. as the opponent. This suggests that Power2B, Inc. is asserting this patent, aligning with the pattern of a known asserter or an entity that engages in patent assertion. Power2B Inc. is also listed as the Petitioner in IPR2022-00315.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. The provided information from Google Patents only lists one assignment record (Reel 052385/0885) where the correspondent is not explicitly stated. Therefore, there's no basis to identify a repeat correspondent.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. Only one assignment from the inventors to Power2B, Inc. is listed.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. The assignment from the inventors to Power2B Inc. was executed on 2007-07-19 and recorded on 2020-04-13 (Reel 052385/0885). The first worldwide family litigation was filed at an unspecified date prior to the current date of 2026-06-26. PTAB case IPR2022-00315 was filed on 2022-01-18. Without a more precise date for the "first worldwide family litigation," it's unclear if the assignment immediately preceded litigation.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication of the original assignee, Power2B Inc., filing for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While the patent is being asserted, there is no information provided to suggest an operating company transferred the patent to Power2B Inc. to assert on its behalf against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence

This verdict is based on the presence of Power2B, Inc. as an assignee, an entity involved in litigation concerning this patent, as indicated by the PTAB case IPR2022-00315 filed against it. The lack of clear information regarding Power2B Inc.'s product shipping activities, coupled with its role in asserting the patent against Samsung, points towards an assertion-focused entity.

Verification can be done at the USPTO Patent Assignment Search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ (search for patent number 10664070).