Assignment history

Inventors

• Jian Zhou: General Electric Co.
• Fei Xu: General Electric Co.
• Dong Liu: General Electric Co.
• Hai Qiu: General Electric Co.
• Pengju Kang: General Electric Co.

All listed inventors were employees of General Electric Co. at the time of the application's filing, as evidenced by their immediate assignment of interest to General Electric Co. on May 5, 2020. No unusual patterns, such as a mass exodus of inventors from the original assignee, are observed.

Original assignee

The original assignee of record is General Electric Co. (GE). GE is a multinational conglomerate engaged in diversified manufacturing, technology, and financial services, with core businesses in power, renewable energy, aviation, and healthcare. Through its former GE Transportation division (now Wabtec) and other industrial segments, GE has historically developed and manufactured electric propulsion systems for various applications, including locomotives and industrial machinery, which could embody the general principles of electric drive systems and energy management methods described in the patent. General Electric Co. is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

The following assignment record is reconstructed from the "Legal Status" events provided by Google Patents for US11374508. Reel and Frame numbers, as well as Correspondent information, are not available in the provided text.

• 2020-05-05 (executed 2020-05-05) / recorded 2020-05-05 — Reel (unavailable)

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: LIU, DONG; ZHOU, JIAN; XU, FEI; KANG, PENGJU; QIU, HAI
  • Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
  • Correspondent: (unavailable from provided text)
  • Context: Initial assignment of patent rights from the inventors to their corporate employer.

• 2025-02-20 (executed unavailable) / recorded 2025-02-20 — Reel (unavailable)

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: DOLBY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC
  • Assignee: EDISON INNOVATIONS, LLC
  • Correspondent: (unavailable from provided text)
  • Context: Transfer of patent ownership from an intellectual property holding entity to Edison Innovations, LLC.

• 2025-03-26 (executed unavailable) / recorded 2025-03-26 — Reel (unavailable)

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
  • Assignee: GE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC
  • Correspondent: (unavailable from provided text)
  • Context: Internal corporate transfer of patent rights from the operating company (General Electric Co.) to an affiliated intellectual property holding company.

• 2025-03-26 (executed unavailable) / recorded 2025-03-26 — Reel (unavailable)

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: GE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC
  • Assignee: DOLBY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC
  • Correspondent: (unavailable from provided text)
  • Context: Corporate name change of the intellectual property holding entity from GE Intellectual Property Licensing, LLC to Dolby Intellectual Property Licensing, LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11374508
    2020 : Inventors assigned to GE Co
    2022 : Patent issued
    2025 : Dolby IP Lic LLC to Edison Innovations LLC
         : GE Co to GE IP Lic LLC
         : GE IP Lic LLC renamed Dolby IP Lic LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer —

   • Present. The assignees "GE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC" and "DOLBY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC" are named with suffixes "IP Licensing, LLC," which are common for intellectual property holding or licensing shell entities. The current assignee, "EDISON INNOVATIONS, LLC," also uses a naming convention ("Innovations, LLC") typical of entities involved in patent assertion rather than product manufacturing. [cite: 2025-02-20, 2025-03-26]

2. Known asserter in the chain —

   • Present. Edison Innovations, LLC is the current assignee and the plaintiff in the active district court litigation (Case No. 2:25-cv-01133). Bunker Hill Technologies LLC, identified as the patent owner in the IPR proceeding (IPR2026-00334) and likely an affiliate of Edison Innovations, LLC, is also an asserting entity. [cite: 2025-02-20, and the previously generated "Litigation summary"]

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain —

   • Unclear. Correspondent information (attorney name, firm, address) is not available from the provided patent text or Google Patents legal events.

4. Cascading transfers —

   • Present. Multiple transfers and a name change occurred within a short timeframe in 2025. Specifically, the assignment to Edison Innovations, LLC was recorded on February 20, 2025, followed closely by the internal transfer from General Electric Company to GE Intellectual Property Licensing, LLC and its subsequent name change to Dolby Intellectual Property Licensing, LLC, both recorded on March 26, 2025. This rapid succession of ownership changes within a few weeks indicates a cascading transfer pattern. [cite: 2025-02-20, 2025-03-26]

5. Pre-litigation transfer —

   • Not present. The assignment to Edison Innovations, LLC was recorded on February 20, 2025. The first infringement suit (Case No. 2:25-cv-01133) was filed on November 18, 2025. This interval of approximately nine months is outside the typical six-month window for a "pre-litigation transfer" signal.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale —

   • Not present. The initial assignor, General Electric Company, is a large, operating entity and there is no indication that the transfer stemmed from a bankruptcy proceeding.

7. Privateering —

   • Unclear. While the patent originated from an operating company (General Electric Co.), there is no explicit information in the provided text (such as SEC filings or news reports) to determine if General Electric Co. maintains a financial interest in or benefits from the assertion of this patent by Edison Innovations, LLC.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) —

   • Not present. The patent is currently held by Edison Innovations, LLC, which is actively asserting it in litigation, rather than a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The assignment chain strongly indicates an NPE assertion pattern. The patent transferred from a large operating company (General Electric Co.) through multiple IP-focused shell entities (GE Intellectual Property Licensing, LLC, Dolby Intellectual Property Licensing, LLC) in rapid succession in early 2025 [cite: 2025-03-26] before landing with Edison Innovations, LLC [cite: 2025-02-20], which is actively litigating the patent. These entities, particularly Edison Innovations, LLC, and its likely affiliate Bunker Hill Technologies LLC, exhibit characteristics of patent asserters.

Verification Link: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ (Search for patent number 11374508)