Assignment history

Inventors

• Scott C. Kowalczyk
• Jonathan Walter Coan
• Jonathan R. Kaml

Based on common patent prosecution practices, it is highly probable that these inventors were employees of Commscope Technologies LLC at the time of filing. Commscope Technologies LLC is listed as both the Original Assignee and the Current Assignee of record. There is no information to suggest any unusual patterns, such as inventors departing the original assignee shortly after filing.

Original assignee

Commscope Technologies LLC is the original assignee and, as of the current date, retains ownership of US10996417, subject to various security interests. Commscope Technologies LLC is a subsidiary of CommScope Inc., a prominent global provider of infrastructure solutions for communication networks. The company manufactures and sells a diverse range of products relevant to fiber optic infrastructure, including enclosures that embody the claims of this patent. CommScope Inc. operates as a publicly traded company and is actively involved in its primary line of business.

Assignment timeline

• 2019-07-03 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-01 — Reel 044675/0200

  • Conveyance: SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: ARRIS ENTERPRISES LLC, ARRIS SOLUTIONS, INC., ARRIS TECHNOLOGY, INC., COMMSCOPE TECHNOLOGIES LLC, COMMSCOPE, INC. OF NORTH CAROLINA, RUCKUS WIRELESS, INC.
  • Assignee: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
  • Correspondent: DLA PIPER LLP (US), 1201 NORTH MARKET STREET, SUITE 2100, WILMINGTON, DE 19801. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Grant of a security interest for a term loan.

• 2019-07-03 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-01 — Reel 044675/0300

  • Conveyance: SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: COMMSCOPE TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Assignee: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Correspondent: DLA PIPER LLP (US), 1201 NORTH MARKET STREET, SUITE 2100, WILMINGTON, DE 19801. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Grant of a security interest for patents.

• 2019-07-03 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-01 — Reel 044675/0401

  • Conveyance: SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: ARRIS ENTERPRISES LLC, ARRIS SOLUTIONS, INC., ARRIS TECHNOLOGY, INC., COMMSCOPE TECHNOLOGIES LLC, COMMSCOPE, INC. OF NORTH CAROLINA, RUCKUS WIRELESS, INC.
  • Assignee: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
  • Correspondent: DLA PIPER LLP (US), 1201 NORTH MARKET STREET, SUITE 2100, WILMINGTON, DE 19801. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Grant of a security interest (ABL Security Agreement).

• 2021-11-19 (executed) / recorded 2021-12-21 — Reel 047864/0488

  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: ARRIS ENTERPRISES LLC, ARRIS SOLUTIONS, INC., COMMSCOPE TECHNOLOGIES LLC, COMMSCOPE, INC. OF NORTH CAROLINA, RUCKUS WIRELESS, INC.
  • Assignee: WILMINGTON TRUST
  • Correspondent: WILMINGTON TRUST, 1100 NORTH MARKET STREET, WILMINGTON, DE 19890.
  • Context: Grant of a security interest.

• 2024-12-17 (executed) / recorded 2025-01-28 — Reel 049901/0815

  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: ARRIS ENTERPRISES LLC, COMMSCOPE INC., OF NORTH CAROLINA, COMMSCOPE TECHNOLOGIES LLC, Outdoor Wireless Networks LLC, RUCKUS IP HOLDINGS LLC
  • Assignee: APOLLO ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY LLC
  • Correspondent: LATHAM & WATKINS LLP, 555 ELEVENTH STREET NW, SUITE 1000, WASHINGTON, DC 20004.
  • Context: Grant of a security interest.

• 2024-12-19 (executed) / recorded 2025-01-28 — Reel 049905/0504

  • Conveyance: RELEASE
  • Assignor: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Assignee: ARRIS ENTERPRISES LLC (F/K/A ARRIS ENTERPRISES, INC.), RUCKUS WIRELESS, LLC (F/K/A RUCKUS WIRELESS, INC.), COMMSCOPE, INC. OF NORTH CAROLINA, ARRIS SOLUTIONS, INC., COMMSCOPE TECHNOLOGIES LLC, ARRIS TECHNOLOGY, INC.
  • Correspondent: REED SMITH LLP, 1301 K STREET NW, SUITE 1000, WASHINGTON, DC 20005.
  • Context: Release of a security interest by JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10996417
    2018 : Filed by Commscope Tech LLC
    2019 : Security interest to JPM Chase
         : Security interest to Wilmington Trust
         : Security interest to JPM Chase
    2021 : Issued
         : Security interest to Wilmington Trust
    2024 : Security interest to Apollo Admin
         : Release by JPM Chase

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The patent's ownership remains with Commscope Technologies LLC, an active operating company, as all recorded transactions are security interests or releases involving Commscope entities and financial institutions.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. None of the entities listed in the assignment chain are recognized as known NPEs or patent asserters.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. DLA Piper LLP (US) is listed as the correspondent for three separate security agreements executed on 2019-07-03, specifically for Reel 044675/0200, 044675/0300, and 044675/0401. This indicates a consistent legal firm handling Commscope's financial filings.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. While several security interest agreements were recorded on the same date (2019-07-03), these represent multiple financing arrangements with the same operating company (Commscope and its subsidiaries), not transfers of ownership between chained shell entities.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The patent is currently involved in litigation, with a US case filed in the Delaware District Court (1:24-cv-00440). However, the recorded security interests and releases are not transfers of title that directly precede or appear to enable this litigation in a typical NPE fashion. The latest security interest and release events (December 2024 / January 2025) fall within the general timeframe of the 2024 litigation, but they are not ownership transfers.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Commscope Technologies LLC is an active operating company, and there is no evidence of bankruptcy or a patent fire-sale.
7. Privateering — not present. The patent remains under the direct ownership of Commscope Technologies LLC, an operating company, without any indication of transfer to an NPE to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The ownership chain does not include any known defensive aggregators.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion
The patent is currently owned by Commscope Technologies LLC, a recognized operating company that manufactures products related to the patent's claims. All recorded transactions are security agreements and releases, consistent with an operating company leveraging its intellectual property for financing, rather than outright transfers of ownership to a non-practicing entity. The ongoing litigation, as noted in the patent summary, further supports this verdict as it aligns with an operating company asserting its patent rights.

USPTO Assignment Center search page for US10996417: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patents/[10996417](/patent/10996417)