Patent 11233780

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.

Active provider: Google · gemini-2.5-flash

Ownership chain (4)

Asserters network →

Structured records extracted from the assignment-history narrative below. Each entity links to its full ownership-network profile.

? · recorded 2019-07-24 · Assignment
NIX, JOHN M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
internal reorg
? · recorded 2019-08-13 · Assignment
VOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC NIX, JOHN A.
internal reorg
? · recorded 2019-08-14 · Assignment
M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
acquisition
? · recorded 2025-09-10 · Change of Address
NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
internal reorg

Assignment history

✓ Generated

Inventors

John A. Nix. His employer at the time of filing (2019-06-26) is not explicitly stated in the patent or search results. However, he is identified as the Managing Member of IoT and M2M Technologies, LLC, an IP development company, and was the founder and CEO of Vobal Technologies, LLC, which provided M2M solutions.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent as the original assignee is Network 1 Technologies Inc..

Network 1 Technologies Inc. is a publicly traded company (NYSE American: NTIP) whose primary line of business is the "development, licensing, and protection of intellectual property assets". They describe themselves as a "technology licensing company" that focuses on "enforcing and licensing its patent portfolio". The company actively engages in patent litigation to monetize its portfolio, which includes the M2M/IoT patent portfolio, under which US11233780 falls.

Network 1 Technologies Inc. does not appear to ship products embodying the claims; its business model is centered on patent licensing and assertion.

Its current status is operating and publicly traded.

Assignment timeline

The reel/frame and correspondent information for these assignments is not available from the provided Google Patents data.

2019-07-24 (recorded)
- Conveyance: Assignment
- Assignor: NIX, JOHN
- Assignee: M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
- Correspondent: Not available from Google Patents data.
- Context: Inventor John Nix assigned his interest in the patent application to M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, an IP development company he headed.
2019-08-13 (recorded)
- Conveyance: Assignment
- Assignor: VOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
- Assignee: NIX, JOHN A.
- Correspondent: Not available from Google Patents data.
- Context: VOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, a company founded by John Nix, assigned interest to John A. Nix.
2019-08-14 (recorded)
- Conveyance: Assignment
- Assignor: M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
- Assignee: NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
- Correspondent: Not available from Google Patents data.
- Context: NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC. acquired the patent interest from M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, as part of its M2M/IoT patent portfolio acquisition.
2025-09-10 (recorded)
- Conveyance: Change of Address
- Assignor: NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
- Assignee: NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
- Correspondent: Not available from Google Patents data.
- Context: Internal administrative update for a change of address.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11233780
    2019 : Filed by Network 1 Tech Inc
         : Inventor assigns to M2M IoT Tech LLC
         : Vobal Tech LLC assigns to J.A. Nix
         : M2M IoT Tech LLC assigns to Network 1 Tech Inc
    2022 : Patent issued
    2025 : Network 1 Tech Inc address update

NPE / troll-pattern signals

Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent moved from the inventor (John Nix) to M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, an "inventor-controlled IP development company", and then to Network 1 Technologies Inc., a company explicitly focused on patent licensing and assertion. M2M and IoT Technologies, LLC acts as an IP holding/development company for John Nix's patents.
Known asserter in the chain — Present. Network 1 Technologies Inc. is a well-known publicly traded patent licensing and assertion entity (NPE). The company's business model revolves around acquiring, developing, licensing, and enforcing intellectual property. They have an active litigation history, including suing Samsung over the M2M/IoT patent portfolio.
Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. Correspondent information (attorney name, firm, address) is not available from the provided Google Patents data.
Cascading transfers — Present. The initial transfers occurred in rapid succession within less than one month in 2019 (July 24, August 13, August 14). This rapid movement between entities (inventor, Vobal Technologies, M2M & IoT Technologies, and Network-1 Technologies) suggests a concerted effort to vest rights and prepare for monetization [cite: 2019-07-24, 2019-08-13, 2019-08-14 assignments].
Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. While Network 1 Technologies Inc. has a history of litigation regarding the M2M/IoT portfolio, the specific filing date of the first infringement suit naming this patent (US11233780) is not provided, making it impossible to confirm if the transfers occurred within 6 months prior. However, Google Patents mentions a US case filed in Texas Eastern District Court (2:25-cv-00667) related to litigation for this patent family [cite: Google Patents Legal Status, 19, 21]. This suit by Network-1 Technologies Inc. against Samsung over six patents received from M2M and IoT Technologies LLC was filed around June 2025. The final assignment to Network-1 Technologies Inc. for this patent was on 2019-08-14, which is significantly before the 2025 litigation mentioned.
Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication that the original assignee, Network 1 Technologies Inc., has filed for bankruptcy.
Privateering — Unclear. While Network 1 Technologies Inc. acquires portfolios and litigates, the specific relationship (e.g., royalty payments back to the original operating company) for this specific patent is not fully detailed. However, Network-1 is "obligated to pay M2M 14% of the first $100 million of net proceeds... and 5% of net proceeds greater than $100 million from Monetization Activities" for patents acquired from M2M and IoT Technologies. This arrangement, where M2M, an inventor-controlled IP development company, receives a share of monetization proceeds, aligns with a privateering-like model where an inventor/developer leverages an NPE for assertion.
Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain ends with Network 1 Technologies Inc., a known NPE, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is driven by several strong signals. Network 1 Technologies Inc. is a publicly traded company whose sole business model is patent licensing and assertion, making it a classic NPE. The patent underwent cascading transfers within months of its application from the inventor to M2M and IoT Technologies, LLC (an inventor-controlled IP development company) and then to Network 1 Technologies Inc., indicating preparation for monetization [cite: 2019-07-24, 2019-08-14 assignments, 9, 15, 19, 21]. Furthermore, Network-1 has an arrangement to pay M2M a percentage of net proceeds from monetization activities, suggesting a privateering-like model.

For verification, see the USPTO Patent Assignment Search at https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ by searching patent number 11233780.

Generated 5/27/2026, 6:48:04 AM