Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor for US Patent 11018678 is Nima Badizadegan. At the time of filing on July 23, 2020, Nima Badizadegan was an individual and the original assignee of the application, as indicated by the patent record stating "Application filed by Individual" and "Original Assignee: Individual."

Original assignee

The patent US11018678 was originally assigned to an individual (Nima Badizadegan) at the time of issue. However, shortly after its issue, the patent was assigned to HFT Solutions LLC.

HFT Solutions LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Network-1 Technologies, Inc.. Network-1 Technologies, Inc. is a company whose primary line of business is "acquiring, developing, licensing, and monetizing intellectual property". HFT Solutions LLC itself was formed specifically to acquire and monetize a patent portfolio covering technologies related to high-frequency trading.

Based on available information, HFT Solutions LLC does not appear to ship products embodying the claims, but rather engages in licensing and assertion activities. The company is currently operating as an intellectual property monetization entity, with its parent company, Network-1 Technologies, Inc., being publicly traded on the NYSE American.

Assignment timeline

• 2022-03-29 (executed) / recorded 2022-04-04 — Reel 058098/0748
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: BADIZADEGAN, NIMA
  • Assignee: HFT SOLUTIONS, LLC
  • Correspondent: NIMA BADIZADEGAN, 12 EAST 49TH ST, NEW YORK, NY 10017
  • Context: Transfer from individual inventor to an IP monetization entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US11018678
    2019 : Priority Date
    2020 : Filed by Nima Badizadegan
    2021 : Issued to Nima Badizadegan
    2022 : Assigned to HFT Solutions LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — patent moved from an operating assignee to a licensing-only LLC.

   • Present. The patent was assigned from individual inventor Nima Badizadegan to HFT Solutions, LLC on 2022-03-29 (executed) / 2022-04-04 (recorded) [Reel 058098/0748]. HFT Solutions, LLC is a subsidiary of Network-1 Technologies, Inc., which is explicitly a company "engaged in acquiring, developing, licensing, and monetizing intellectual property". This indicates HFT Solutions, LLC is a licensing-only entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — current or prior assignee matches a public NPE list.

   • Present. HFT Solutions, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Network-1 Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: NTIP). Network-1 Technologies, Inc. is a publicly known Non-Practicing Entity (NPE) that generates revenue through patent licensing and assertion. HFT Solutions, LLC has initiated patent litigation against companies like Optiver, Citadel Securities, and Jump Trading, referencing the HFT patent portfolio, of which US11018678 is a part.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — the same attorney or recording firm of record on multiple links in the chain, OR an attorney whose name has appeared as correspondent on a Unified Patents / RPX / Patent Progress NPE assertion list.

   • Unclear. There is only one recorded assignment for this patent (from Nima Badizadegan to HFT Solutions, LLC, Reel 058098/0748). The correspondent is NIMA BADIZADEGAN. With only one record, it is not possible to determine if this correspondent recurs across multiple patent chains or is otherwise associated with known NPE activities.

4. Cascading transfers — multiple consecutive assignments through chained LLCs in <24 months, especially when assignees share a correspondent address, the same correspondent attorney, or common principals.

   • Not present. Only one assignment is recorded for this patent.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — assignment dated within 6 months before the first infringement suit naming this patent.

   • Not present. The assignment to HFT Solutions, LLC was executed on 2022-03-29 and recorded on 2022-04-04 [Reel 058098/0748]. The earliest public record of litigation involving patents from the broader HFT patent portfolio (though not explicitly US11018678 as a named patent-in-suit in the cited articles) by HFT Solutions, LLC was in December 2024 against Citadel Securities and Jump Trading, and September 2025 against Optiver. The IPR against US11018678 was filed in June 2026. All these dates are more than 6 months after the assignment.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — original assignee filed Chapter 7 / 11 and patents sold in proceedings.

   • Not present. The patent was assigned from the individual inventor to HFT Solutions, LLC [Reel 058098/0748]. There is no indication of bankruptcy as part of this transfer.

7. Privateering — operating company transfers to an NPE that asserts on the operating company's behalf against competitors.

   • Unclear. While Network-1 Technologies, Inc. is an NPE and acquired the patent from the inventor (Nima Badizadegan), it is not evident from the provided information that Nima Badizadegan was operating a company that transferred the patent to Network-1 to assert against competitors. The transfer was from an "Individual."

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — chain ends at RPX, Allied Security Trust (AST), LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

   • Not present. The chain ends with HFT Solutions, LLC, a subsidiary of Network-1 Technologies, Inc., which is an NPE.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The patent was transferred from the individual inventor to HFT Solutions, LLC, a subsidiary of Network-1 Technologies, Inc. (NTIP), on 2022-03-29 (executed) / 2022-04-04 (recorded) [Reel 058098/0748]. Network-1 Technologies, Inc. is a known Non-Practicing Entity (NPE) focused on intellectual property monetization, and HFT Solutions, LLC has initiated patent litigation as part of its business model. These facts represent strong signals consistent with an NPE assertion strategy.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US11018678