Assignment history

Inventors

• Peter A. Mehring (Zest Labs Inc.)
• Thomas C. Reese (Zest Labs Inc.)
• Dean M. Kawaguchi (Zest Labs Inc.)
• Sameer Dekate (Zest Labs Inc.)
• Russell Shikami (Zest Labs Inc.)

Based on the information available, all named inventors were employed by Zest Labs Inc. at the time of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee is Zest Labs Inc. [cite: Original Assignee]. Zest Labs Inc. is in the business of product monitoring, specifically for improving the delivery environment and process for products, particularly perishable food items. It develops systems and methods for actively managing food delivery to ensure quality and safety. While the patent describes "custom-built delivery bag[s]" and "sensor tag[s]," it is unclear from the provided text whether Zest Labs Inc. directly shipped products embodying the claims or primarily licensed its technology. The current status of Zest Labs Inc. is listed as "Active" by Google Patents. [cite: Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)]

Assignment timeline

• 2019-04-01 (executed) / recorded 2019-04-01 — Reel 049510/0677

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: KAWAGUCHI, DEAN M., REESE, Thomas C., SHIKAMI, Russell, DEKATE, Sameer, MEHRING, PETER A.
  • Assignee: INTELLEFLEX CORPORATION.
  • Correspondent: BLANK ROME LLP, Attn: Patent Group, One Logan Square, 130 N. 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor rights to a corporate entity.

• 2019-04-01 (executed) / recorded 2019-04-01 — Reel 049510/0681

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: INTELLEFLEX CORPORATION
  • Assignee: ZEST LABS, INC.
  • Correspondent: BLANK ROME LLP, Attn: Patent Group, One Logan Square, 130 N. 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. (This same correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Corporate name change.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11037093B2
    2019-03-21 : Filed by Zest Labs Inc
    2019-04-01 : Inventors assigned to Intelleflex Corp
               : Intelleflex became Zest Labs Inc
    2021-06-15 : Issued to Zest Labs Inc

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The initial transfer is from individual inventors to a corporate entity, followed by a name change. There is no evidence of a transfer to a licensing-only LLC with characteristics of a shell entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Zest Labs Inc. is not identified as a known patent asserter (NPE) in the provided information or common NPE lists (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, Intellectual Ventures, IPNav, Wi-LAN, Mosaid / Conversant, Vringo, Pendrell, Innovatio IP Ventures, MPHJ Technology, Lumen View Technology, Round Rock Research, Document Generation Corp, Erich Spangenberg entities).
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. BLANK ROME LLP, Attn: Patent Group, One Logan Square, 130 N. 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, appears as the correspondent for both the "Assignment of Assignors Interest" (Reel 049510/0677) and the "Change of Name" (Reel 049510/0681) records.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are only two recorded transfers, both occurring on the same day in 2019.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. There is no information provided about any litigation involving this patent.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication that Zest Labs Inc. or Intelleflex Corporation underwent a bankruptcy proceeding.
7. Privateering — not present. There is no evidence of Zest Labs Inc. transferring the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator (RPX, Allied Security Trust (AST), LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network).

Verdict

Insufficient data The assignment record shows a clear chain of title from the inventors to Zest Labs Inc., including a corporate name change. While the same correspondent appears on both recorded assignments (Reel 049510/0677 and Reel 049510/0681), this alone is not sufficient to indicate an NPE pattern without further evidence of shell entities, known asserters, or litigation. The patent appears to remain with the original assignee.

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