Assignment history

Inventors

• Jared Oehring (US Well Services LLC)
• Brandon Hinderliter (US Well Services LLC)
• Lon Robinson (US Well Services LLC)
• Alexander James Christinzio (US Well Services LLC)

All inventors were employed by the original assignee, US Well Services LLC, at the time of filing. There is no indication of all inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is US Well Services LLC. [cite: US11009162B1] US Well Services LLC provides electric hydraulic fracturing services. They ship products and provide services embodying the claims of the patent, specifically systems and methods for integrated flow supply lines in hydraulic fracturing, including specialty-sized hoses and fittings for electric fracturing pumps. [cite: US11009162B1] Their current status is operating.

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Assignment Center (https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/) shows the following assignments for US patent 11009162:

• 2020-06-09 (executed) / recorded 2020-06-09 — Reel 051012/0009

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: OEHRING, JARED; HINDERLITER, BRANDON N. (inventors)
  • Assignee: U.S. Well Services, LLC
  • Correspondent: MCDONNELL BOEHNEN HULBERT & BERGHOFF LLP, 300 S WACKER DRIVE SUITE 3100, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60606.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor's rights to the original assignee.

• 2021-02-08 (executed) / recorded 2021-02-08 — Reel 055273/0088

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: CHRISTINZIO, ALEXANDER JAMES; ROBINSON, LON (inventors)
  • Assignee: U.S. Well Services, LLC
  • Correspondent: MCDONNELL BOEHNEN HULBERT & BERGHOFF LLP, 300 S WACKER DRIVE SUITE 3100, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60606. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor's rights to the original assignee.

• 2021-06-30 (executed) / recorded 2021-07-06 — Reel 057038/0925

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: U.S. WELL SERVICES, LLC
  • Assignee: WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Correspondent: Vinson & Elkins LLP, 1001 FANNIN STREET, SUITE 2500, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77002.
  • Context: Grant of a security interest, likely related to financing. Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, acts as a collateral agent [cite: US11009162B1, 4, 15, 21].

• 2022-11-02 (executed) / recorded 2022-11-04 — Reel 062725/0001

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: U.S. WELL SERVICES, LLC
  • Assignee: PIPER SANDLER FINANCE LLC
  • Correspondent: AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP, ONE BRYANT PARK, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10036.
  • Context: Grant of a security interest. Piper Sandler Finance LLC is a financial services company [cite: US11009162B1, 3, 6, 10, 20, 24].

• 2022-12-16 (executed) / recorded 2022-12-20 — Reel 063388/0984

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: U.S. WELL SERVICE HOLDINGS, LLC; U.S. WELL SERVICES, LLC; USWS FLEET 10, LLC; USWS FLEET 11, LLC; USWS HOLDINGS LLC
  • Assignee: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
  • Correspondent: AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP, ONE BRYANT PARK, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10036. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Grant of a security interest. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. is a major financial institution [cite: US11009162B1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 11]. This likely reflects a broader corporate financing arrangement involving several US Well Services entities.

• 2023-12-21 (executed) / recorded 2023-12-26 — Reel 067713/0950

  • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
  • Assignor: WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Assignee: U.S. WELL SERVICES, LLC
  • Correspondent: Vinson & Elkins LLP, 1001 FANNIN STREET, SUITE 2500, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77002. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Release of the security interest previously granted to Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB.

• 2024-01-03 (executed) / recorded 2024-01-09 — Reel 067858/0500

  • Conveyance: Intellectual Property Security Agreement
  • Assignor: BEST PUMP AND FLOW, LLC; FTS INTERNATIONAL SERVICES, LLC; PROFRAC SERVICES, LLC; U.S. WELL SERVICES HOLDINGS, LLC; U.S. WELL SERVICES, LLC
  • Assignee: U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Correspondent: BRACEWELL LLP, 711 LOUISIANA STREET, SUITE 2300, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77002.
  • Context: Grant of a security interest by multiple entities, including ProFrac Services, LLC, and US Well Services, LLC, to U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as collateral agent [cite: US11009162B1, 17, 18, 19, 29, 31]. This reflects the acquisition of U.S. Well Services by ProFrac Holding Corp. in 2022.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11009162
    2019 : Application filed
    2020 : Inventor assignment to US Well Services
    2021 : Inventor assignment to US Well Services
         : Security Interest to Wilmington Savings
    2022 : Security Interest to Piper Sandler
         : Security Interest to JPMorgan Chase
    2023 : Release by Wilmington Savings
    2024 : Security Interest to US Bank Trust Co

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The primary assignees, US Well Services LLC and subsequently ProFrac Services, LLC, are operating companies in the hydraulic fracturing industry. While security interests are granted to financial institutions, these are not transfers to shell licensing entities but rather typical financing arrangements [cite: US11009162B1].

2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. None of the assignees (US Well Services LLC, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, Piper Sandler Finance LLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, or ProFrac Services, LLC) are listed as known NPEs in common databases.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present.

   • MCDONNELL BOEHNEN HULBERT & BERGHOFF LLP appears on Reel 051012/0009 (2020-06-09) and Reel 055273/0088 (2021-02-08).
   • AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP appears on Reel 062725/0001 (2022-11-02) and Reel 063388/0984 (2022-12-20).
   • Vinson & Elkins LLP appears on Reel 057038/0925 (2021-07-06) and Reel 067713/0950 (2023-12-26).
     This indicates consistent legal representation for US Well Services LLC and its financial transactions.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. The transfers primarily involve inventor assignments to the operating company, followed by security interests to various financial institutions. The release of the security interest by Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, is followed by a new security interest to U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, involving ProFrac Services, LLC, which reflects the corporate acquisition of US Well Services by ProFrac Holding Corp. in 2022. This is not a pattern of rapid, sequential transfers between shell entities.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The District Court litigation (Case No. 2:25-cv-00522) was filed around June 24, 2025. The most recent assignment is an Intellectual Property Security Agreement to U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT, recorded on 2024-01-09 (executed 2024-01-03) on Reel 067858/0500. This date is more than 6 months before the litigation filing, making it not a clear pre-litigation transfer to enable assertion. However, the plaintiff in the litigation, PROFRAC SERVICES, LLC, is an assignor in this security agreement, indicating their ownership and involvement.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. US Well Services LLC is an operating company, and there is no evidence of a bankruptcy fire-sale of its patent portfolio.

7. Privateering — unclear. While ProFrac Services, LLC (an operating company) is involved in litigation as a plaintiff against competitors (Liberty Energy Services LLC, Liberty Energy, Inc., Liberty Advanced Equipment Technologies LLC), there is no explicit evidence from the assignment records or provided context to suggest the patent was transferred to an NPE to assert on ProFrac's behalf. The patent remains within the operating company's corporate structure.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent has not been acquired by any known defensive aggregators.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion
This verdict is supported by the fact that the patent originated with an operating company, US Well Services LLC, which provides hydraulic fracturing services. The most recent relevant assignment (Reel 067858/0500, recorded 2024-01-09) shows a security agreement where ProFrac Services, LLC (an operating company that acquired US Well Services in 2022) is an assignor. The current litigation in the Eastern District of Texas involves ProFrac Services, LLC as a plaintiff against alleged competitors.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/