Assignment history

Inventors

• Michael S. Harvey (Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc.)
• Jonathan N. Howarth (Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc.)

The inventors were employed by the original assignee, Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc., at the time of filing, as the application was filed by the company and subsequent assignments confirmed the transfer of inventorship rights to the company.

Original assignee

Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc. is the original assignee named on the issued patent. This company manufactures and sells peracetic acid (PAA) disinfectants and sanitizers, including "Perasan MP-2," which are used in various industries such as dairy, food, beverage processing, and meat, poultry, and seafood treatment. The patent claims methods of using PAA to treat poultry, directly relating to their primary line of business. Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc. is currently operating and actively asserting this patent, as evidenced by its involvement in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit case 24-2160 against Safe Foods Corp.

Assignment timeline

• 2017-03-27 (executed) / recorded 2017-03-31 — Reel 039860/0698

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HARVEY, MICHAEL S.; HOWARTH, JONATHAN N.
  • Assignee: ENVIRO TECH CHEMICAL SERVICES, INC.
  • Correspondent: RUTH E. CULLEN, CULLEN AND DYKMAN LLP, 100 Quentin Roosevelt Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530. This correspondent also appears on a later assignment for this patent.
  • Context: Formal assignment of inventors' rights to their employer.

• 2019-08-15 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-20 — Reel 049514/0831

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HARVEY, MICHAEL S.; HOWARTH, JONATHAN N.
  • Assignee: ENVIRO TECH CHEMICAL SERVICES, INC.
  • Correspondent: RUTH E. CULLEN, CULLEN AND DYKMAN LLP, 100 Quentin Roosevelt Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530. This correspondent also appeared on an earlier assignment for this patent.
  • Context: Confirmatory assignment of inventors' rights to their employer.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10912321
    2011 : Application filed by Enviro Tech
    2017 : Inventors assign to Enviro Tech
    2019 : Inventors assign to Enviro Tech
    2021 : Patent Issued to Enviro Tech
    2026 : CAFC affirms claims invalid

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The patent has consistently been assigned to Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc., an operating company that manufactures and sells products related to the patent's subject matter. The assignments recorded are from the inventors to the company.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc. is an operating company, not a known NPE from public lists. The litigation mentioned in the patent summary indicates Enviro Tech is the plaintiff.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Ruth E. Cullen of Cullen and Dykman LLP is listed as the correspondent for both recorded assignments (Reel 039860/0698, recorded 2017-03-31; Reel 049514/0831, recorded 2019-08-20). While the same correspondent handling multiple assignments for the same company is common, and not automatically an NPE signal, it is a noteworthy pattern if the correspondent is otherwise known for NPE work. In this specific chain, it's consistent with an operating company.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are only two assignments, both from the inventors to the same operating company, and spaced over two years apart.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The earliest recorded assignment is 2017-03-31, while the patent issued in 2021. The confirmed litigation activity is from 2026. The assignments occurred years before the patent issued and long before the reported litigation.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication that Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc. has undergone bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — unclear. While Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc. is an operating company, the nature of its litigation against Safe Foods Corp. would need further investigation (e.g., through SEC filings or court documents) to determine if it aligns with a privateering model where a competitor funds assertion through an NPE. Based solely on the provided patent documents and assignment records, this cannot be confirmed.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent remains with the original operating assignee, Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc., which is actively asserting it.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion.
The patent's ownership has remained with the original operating company, Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc., since its application filing. The recorded assignments (Reel 039860/0698, recorded 2017-03-31; Reel 049514/0831, recorded 2019-08-20) are from the inventors to their employer, which is standard practice. Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc. is a product-shipping entity, and the litigation cited is an assertion by them.

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