Patent 10952153

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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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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Inventors

The sole named inventor for US Patent 10952153 is Nicholas W. Anderson. His employer at the time of the original priority application filing (2004-08-12) was IPWireless, Inc., as indicated by the first assignment record (Reel 052449/0501), where Nicholas W. Anderson assigned his interest to IPWireless, Inc. [cite: 052449/0501].

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent US10952153 is Intellectual Ventures II LLC. Intellectual Ventures II LLC is a well-known patent assertion entity (PAE) or Non-Practicing Entity (NPE) whose primary line of business involves acquiring, managing, and licensing intellectual property. It is not known to ship products embodying the claims of this patent or other patents it holds. Intellectual Ventures II LLC is currently an operating entity in the patent licensing and assertion business.

Assignment timeline

Here is the chronological list of recorded assignments for US Patent 10952153, as found on the USPTO Assignment Center:

  • 2004-08-10 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-26 — Reel 052449/0501
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
    • Assignor: ANDERSON, NICHOLAS W.
    • Assignee: IPWIRELESS, INC.
    • Correspondent: ROBERT E. ENLOW; NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.; 1201 E. 104TH STREET, #113, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64131. This correspondent recurs throughout this assignment chain.
    • Context: Initial assignment from inventor to an operating company.
  • 2004-08-10 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-26 — Reel 052449/0504
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
    • Assignor: IPWIRELESS, INC.
    • Assignee: WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LLC
    • Correspondent: ROBERT E. ENLOW; NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.; 1201 E. 104TH STREET, #113, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64131. This correspondent recurs throughout this assignment chain.
    • Context: Transfer to an entity that appears to be part of a structured transaction, possibly a holding company.
  • 2004-08-10 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-26 — Reel 052449/0507
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
    • Assignor: WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LLC
    • Assignee: IPWIRELESS, INC.
    • Correspondent: ROBERT E. ENLOW; NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.; 1201 E. 104TH STREET, #113, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64131. This correspondent recurs throughout this assignment chain.
    • Context: Re-assignment back to IPWireless, Inc., likely part of an internal reorganization or a release of security interest within a larger transaction.
  • 2004-08-10 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-26 — Reel 052449/0510
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
    • Assignor: IPWIRELESS, INC.
    • Assignee: NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    • Correspondent: ROBERT E. ENLOW; NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.; 1201 E. 104TH STREET, #113, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64131. This correspondent recurs throughout this assignment chain.
    • Context: Transfer from IPWireless, Inc. to Northrop Grumman Information Technology, Inc.
  • 2004-08-10 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-26 — Reel 052449/0513
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
    • Assignor: NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES HOLDING 81 LLC
    • Correspondent: ROBERT E. ENLOW; NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.; 1201 E. 104TH STREET, #113, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64131. This correspondent recurs throughout this assignment chain.
    • Context: Transfer to a known Intellectual Ventures shell entity as part of an asset acquisition.
  • 2004-08-10 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-26 — Reel 052449/0516
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
    • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES HOLDING 81 LLC
    • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES II LLC
    • Correspondent: ROBERT E. ENLOW; NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.; 1201 E. 104TH STREET, #113, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64131. This correspondent recurs throughout this assignment chain.
    • Context: Transfer between Intellectual Ventures entities, finalizing ownership to the ultimate asserting entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10952153
    2004 : Inventor to IPWireless Inc
         : IPWireless to WTS LLC
         : WTS LLC to IPWireless Inc
         : IPWireless to Northrop Grumman IT
         : Northrop Grumman IT to IV Holding 81
         : IV Holding 81 to IV II LLC
    2019 : US10952153 application filed
         : All 2004 assignments recorded
    2021 : US10952153 issued
    2024 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — present. Transfers to Wireless Technology Solutions LLC (Reel 052449/0504), Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC (Reel 052449/0513), and Intellectual Ventures II LLC (Reel 052449/0516) are characteristic of shell entities, especially the Intellectual Ventures entities which are known for patent acquisition and licensing rather than product sales. [cite: 052449/0504, 052449/0513, 052449/0516]
  2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC and Intellectual Ventures II LLC are widely recognized as entities associated with Intellectual Ventures, a prominent patent assertion entity (NPE). [cite: 052449/0513, 052449/0516]
  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Robert E. Enlow of Northrop Grumman Information Technology, Inc. is listed as the correspondent for all six assignment records (Reel 052449/0501, 052449/0504, 052449/0507, 052449/0510, 052449/0513, 052449/0516), all recorded on the same date. This indicates a single legal entity managed the entire complex chain of title transfers for this patent family. [cite: 052449/0501, 052449/0504, 052449/0507, 052449/0510, 052449/0513, 052449/0516]
  4. Cascading transfers — present. There are six consecutive assignments of rights, all executed on the same day (2004-08-10) and recorded together (2019-06-26). This multi-step transfer through various entities (IPWireless, Wireless Technology Solutions LLC, Northrop Grumman IT, Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC) culminating in Intellectual Ventures II LLC demonstrates a structured, multi-stage acquisition and formalization of title. [cite: 052449/0501, 052449/0504, 052449/0507, 052449/0510, 052449/0513, 052449/0516]
  5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The last assignment in the chain to Intellectual Ventures II LLC was recorded on 2019-06-26 (executed 2004-08-10). The first infringement suit for this patent was filed on 2024-03-01, which is significantly outside the 6-month window.
  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication in the assignment records or public information that the assignors were in bankruptcy at the time of these transfers.
  7. Privateering — unclear. While the patent was transferred from Northrop Grumman Information Technology, Inc. (an operating company) to Intellectual Ventures, specific evidence demonstrating that this transfer was for privateering purposes (assertion on Northrop Grumman's behalf against competitors) is not available from the provided records.
  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent currently resides with Intellectual Ventures II LLC, a known patent assertion entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The presence of multiple strong NPE-pattern signals, including the chain ending with a known NPE (Intellectual Ventures II LLC), transfers through various shell-like entities, and the consistent use of a single correspondent across all assignments to manage a complex, multi-step transfer of rights, strongly indicates that this patent is held for assertion. The full assignment history can be verified on the USPTO Assignment Center by searching for patent number 10952153.

Generated 5/29/2026, 9:04:35 PM