Patent 10852002

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Ownership chain (2)

Asserters network →

Structured records extracted from the assignment-history narrative below. Each entity links to its full ownership-network profile.

  1. 2019-11-13 · recorded 2019-11-20 · reel 056763/0002 · Assignment of Assignors Interest

    HARTFELDER, CHARLES B.; KESTNER, KYLE THOMAS; LYONS, CHRISTOPHER B., JR.; MCCOY, ZACHARY N.PRINCE CASTLE LLC

    Correspondent: JOHN S. RADOV · RADER, FISHMAN & GRAUER

    initial assignment of inventor rights to the original operating company assignee

  2. 2021-01-26 · recorded 2021-02-09 · reel 059422/0329 · Merger

    CORNELIUS, INC.; PRINCE CASTLE LLCMARMON FOODSERVICE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

    Correspondent: KEVIN R. CASEY · CASEY & FRANKE

    acquisition

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

✓ Generated

Inventors

The named inventors are Kyle Thomas Kestner, Christopher B. Lyons, Jr., Charles B. Hartfelder, and Zachary N. McCoy. At the time of the application's filing (May 3, 2019), they were likely employees of Prince Castle LLC, as the initial assignment of their interest was to this entity. No unusual patterns, such as all inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing, are evident.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent was Prince Castle LLC. Prince Castle LLC is a known manufacturer of foodservice equipment, including food holding bins that embody the claims of this patent. Prince Castle LLC was subsequently acquired by Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc. (a Berkshire Hathaway company), through a merger and change of name, and is no longer operating as a standalone entity under its original name. Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc. continues to operate and ship products.

Assignment timeline

  • 2019-11-13 (executed) / recorded 2019-11-20 — Reel 056763/0002

    • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
    • Assignor: HARTFELDER, CHARLES B.; KESTNER, KYLE THOMAS; LYONS, CHRISTOPHER B., JR.; MCCOY, ZACHARY N.
    • Assignee: PRINCE CASTLE LLC
    • Correspondent: JOHN S. RADOV, RADER, FISHMAN & GRAUER PLLC, 39533 WOODWARD AVE STE 140, BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI 48304
    • Context: Initial assignment of inventor rights to the original operating company assignee.

  • 2021-01-26 (executed) / recorded 2021-02-09 — Reel 059422/0329

    • Conveyance: Merger
    • Assignor: CORNELIUS, INC.; PRINCE CASTLE LLC
    • Assignee: MARMON FOODSERVICE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Correspondent: KEVIN R. CASEY, CASEY & FRANKE, PC, 29000 TELEGRAPH ROAD SUITE 300, SOUTHFIELD, MI 48034
    • Context: Acquisition and merger of Prince Castle LLC and Cornelius, Inc. into Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10852002
    2019 : Filed by Prince Castle LLC
         : Inventors assign to Prince Castle
    2020 : Patent issued
    2021 : Prince Castle merged into Marmon FST

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — Not present. The transfers are from individual inventors to an operating company (Prince Castle LLC) and then to another operating company (Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc.) via a merger.
  2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. Neither Prince Castle LLC nor Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc. are identified as known patent asserters or NPEs.
  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. John S. Radov from Rader, Fishman & Grauer PLLC served as correspondent for the 2019 assignment (Reel 056763/0002). Kevin R. Casey from Casey & Franke, PC served as correspondent for the 2021 merger (Reel 059422/0329). These are distinct individuals and firms.
  4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There are only two assignments, spaced over a year apart, and they represent standard corporate events rather than rapid, consecutive transfers between shell entities.
  5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The latest recorded assignment (Reel 059422/0329) was executed on 2021-01-26, which is more than six months prior to the first known litigation filing in 2025.
  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The assignments do not indicate any bankruptcy proceedings for the assignor or assignee entities. The 2021 transfer was a corporate merger.
  7. Privateering — Not present. There is no evidence in the assignment records or provided context to suggest that an operating company transferred the patent to an NPE for assertion on its behalf.
  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently held by Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc., an operating company, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

The patent's assignment history shows a clear chain from the inventors to an operating company (Prince Castle LLC, Reel 056763/0002) and then to another operating company (Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc., Reel 059422/0329) through a corporate merger. There are no indications of shell entities, known NPEs, or other patent troll patterns. The current assignee, Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc., is a manufacturer of foodservice equipment.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US10852002

Generated 7/3/2026, 12:01:46 AM