Assignment history

Inventors

• David Wyatt (CardWare Inc.)

Original assignee

CardWare Inc. is the original assignee. Based on the patent title ("Multi-function electronic payment card and device system") and description, their primary line of business appears to be related to electronic payment cards and device systems. The current status of CardWare Inc. is "Active" as the assignee of the patent. It is unclear from the provided text whether CardWare Inc. currently ships a product embodying the claims.

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Assignment Center (https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/) shows the following assignment for US Patent 11328286:

• 2022-12-08 (executed) / recorded 2022-12-08 — Reel 060411/0074
  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: CARDWARE, INC.
  • Assignee: CARDWARE, INC.
  • Correspondent: NOT PROVIDED
  • Context: Internal reorg (merger with itself).

This entry indicates a merger of "CARDWARE, INC." into "CARDWARE, INC.", which is unusual and suggests an internal corporate restructuring or a name change that was recorded as a merger. The current assignee remains CardWare Inc.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11328286
    2020 : Filed by CardWare Inc
    2022 : Issued to CardWare Inc
    2022 : Assigned to CardWare Inc (Merger)

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The sole recorded assignment is a merger of CardWare Inc. into itself, not a transfer to a separate licensing entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. CardWare Inc. is the only assignee in the chain, and it does not appear on public NPE lists. Unified Patents has filed PTAB cases against CardWare Inc., indicating CardWare Inc. is the asserting entity, not an NPE it transferred to.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. The correspondent information for the single recorded assignment (merger) is "NOT PROVIDED", making it impossible to assess recurrence.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. Only one assignment (a merger) is recorded.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The merger was recorded on 2022-12-08. The earliest litigation identified by Google Patents for this specific patent is a US case filed in Texas Eastern District Court in 2022 (case number 2:22-cv-00141). While the exact filing date within 2022 is not provided, it's possible the litigation began around or after the merger date. However, given the nature of the "merger" as an internal reorg, it's unlikely to be a pre-litigation transfer for the purpose of assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. No indication of CardWare Inc. undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — unclear. While CardWare Inc. appears to be asserting the patent (given the PTAB and district court cases), there's no explicit information about it acting on behalf of another operating company. CardWare Inc. does offer products and services related to payment systems.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion (current assignee ships products embodying the claims and is suing actual competitors)

CardWare Inc. is the original and current assignee of US11328286. While the record shows a merger of "CARDWARE, INC." into "CARDWARE, INC." on 2022-12-08 (Reel 060411/0074), this appears to be an internal corporate event rather than a transfer to a shell entity. CardWare Inc. explicitly lists US11328286 as part of its intellectual property on its website and offers products like "Card+ Pay" and "Card+ Cash" which align with the patent's subject matter. The existence of multiple litigations (PTAB and District Court cases) naming CardWare Inc. (or implying it as the patent owner) further supports that they are actively asserting their patent rights, likely against competitors.

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