Assignment history

Inventors

• Sek M. Chai: Employed by SRI International at the time of filing.
• David C. Zhang: Employed by SRI International at the time of filing.
• Mohamed R. Amer: Employed by SRI International at the time of filing.
• Timothy J. Shields: Employed by SRI International at the time of filing.
• Aswin Nadamuni Raghavan: Employed by SRI International at the time of filing.
• Bhaskar Ramamurthy: Employed by SRI International at the time of filing.

All named inventors assigned their interest to SRI International on June 21, 2017, shortly after the application filing date of June 16, 2017 (Reel 043320/0363, Reel 044161/0680). This is a standard practice for employees and does not indicate an unusual pattern of departure or a portfolio fire-sale from the original assignee.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is SRI International.

SRI International is a non-profit scientific research institute. Its primary line of business involves conducting research and development, and then licensing its technologies or spinning off new companies based on its innovations. It does not typically "ship products" embodying claims in the traditional commercial sense, but rather invents foundational technologies that others may commercialize. SRI International is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

The following assignments are recorded for US Patent 11328206 in the USPTO Assignment Center as of 2026-05-29.

• 2017-06-21 (executed) / recorded 2017-08-17 — Reel 043320/0363
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: NADAMUNI RAGHAVAN, ASWIN; ZHANG, DAVID C.; CHAI, SEK M.; SHIELDS, TIMOTHY J.; RAMAMURTHY, BHASKAR; AMER, MOHAMED R. (all inventors collectively)
  • Assignee: SRI INTERNATIONAL
  • Correspondent: SRI INTERNATIONAL, ATTN: OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL, 333 RAVENSWOOD AVENUE, MENLO PARK, CA 94025
  • Context: Standard assignment of patent rights from individual inventors to their employer.
• 2017-06-21 (executed) / recorded 2018-05-08 — Reel 044161/0680
  • Conveyance: CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: NADAMUNI RAGHAVAN, ASWIN
  • Assignee: SRI INTERNATIONAL
  • Correspondent: OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL -- SRI INTERNATIONAL, 333 RAVENSWOOD AVE, MENLO PARK, CA 94025
  • Context: Corrective assignment to update inventor name as noted in the Google Patents legal events.
• 2024-12-19 (executed) / recorded 2025-02-14 — Reel 062846/0064
  • Conveyance: LICENSE (CONFIRMATORY LICENSE)
  • Assignor: SRI INTERNATIONAL
  • Assignee: GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES AS REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE
  • Correspondent: BRAMHALL, SCOTT M. (ATTORNEY) -- USAF - AFMC (AFRL/RZS), 2240 D STREET, WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, OH 45433-7226
  • Context: Confirmatory license reflecting federal government rights due to funding.
• 2024-12-19 (executed) / recorded 2025-03-24 — Reel 062973/0746
  • Conveyance: LICENSE (CONFIRMATORY LICENSE)
  • Assignor: SRI INTERNATIONAL
  • Assignee: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
  • Correspondent: GRADY, SUSAN A. (ATTORNEY) -- NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL, 2415 EISENHOWER AVE., ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314
  • Context: Confirmatory license reflecting federal government rights due to funding.

Note: While the litigation summary indicates that Magma Scientific, LLC received this patent from SRI International and is currently asserting it, no corresponding assignment record for US11328206 is found in the USPTO Assignment Center as of 2026-05-29.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11328206
    2017-06-16 : Application filed by SRI Intl
    2017-06-21 : Inventors assign to SRI Intl
    2022-05-10 : Patent issued to SRI Intl
    2024-12-19 : SRI Intl licenses to USAF
    2024-12-19 : SRI Intl licenses to NSF
    2026-03-13 : Magma Scientific LLC sues AWS

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. Magma Scientific, LLC is identified as the plaintiff in a patent infringement lawsuit (7:26-cv-00093), and the litigation summary notes it "received the patent from SRI International" and has "accused Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2 of infringement." This behavior, along with the corporate structure implied by "LLC", is indicative of a licensing-focused shell entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Magma Scientific, LLC is actively asserting the patent against Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2, a target typical of patent assertion entities. The litigation summary also references "RPX Insight," which tracks NPE activity, further supporting this identification.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. The recorded assignments show different correspondents for each distinct transfer (SRI International's internal counsel and attorneys for the USAF and NSF).
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. The recorded assignments occurred at distinct times (inventor assignments in 2017, government licenses in 2025). The transfer to Magma Scientific, LLC is not recorded with a specific date but is implied to have occurred before March 2026. This does not suggest rapid, chained transfers.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. The litigation was filed on March 13, 2026. The date when Magma Scientific, LLC "received" the patent from SRI International is not specified in the provided information. Therefore, it cannot be determined if this transfer occurred within six months prior to the lawsuit.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. SRI International, the original assignee, remains an active, operating entity.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While SRI International is a research institute that licenses its technology and Magma Scientific, LLC is asserting the patent, there is no direct evidence (e.g., from SEC filings or investigative reports) to confirm a privateering arrangement where SRI International would be funding or directing Magma Scientific, LLC's litigation against AWS.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently being asserted by Magma Scientific, LLC, which is not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The verdict is high confidence NPE due to the explicit identification of Magma Scientific, LLC as the plaintiff in an infringement lawsuit (7:26-cv-00093, filed 2026-03-13) and the statement that Magma Scientific, LLC "received the patent from SRI International" for the purpose of accusing Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2 of infringement. This demonstrates the characteristics of both a shell entity acting as an asserter. Although the specific assignment to Magma Scientific, LLC is not found in the USPTO assignment records, its role in litigation as provided in the context is authoritative.

Verification of USPTO Assignment records for US11328206: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html