Assignment history

Inventors

• Thomas M. Isaacson (Employer at time of filing: Undeterminable from patent document)
• Ryan Connell Durham (Employer at time of filing: Undeterminable from patent document)

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent, US 11461828B2, is Monticello Enterprises LLC. It is not clear from the patent document or general knowledge whether Monticello Enterprises LLC ships a product embodying the claims or their primary line of business. The current status of Monticello Enterprises LLC (operating, acquired, dissolved, in bankruptcy) is also not determinable from the patent document.

Assignment timeline

A search of the USPTO Assignment Center for patent number 11461828 reveals only the original assignment from the inventors to Monticello Enterprises LLC. There are no subsequent assignments recorded for this patent.

• 2022-01-25 (executed) / recorded 2022-01-25 — Reel 060593/0096
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: DURHAM, RYAN CONNELL; ISAACSON, THOMAS M.
  • Assignee: MONTICELLO ENTERPRISES LLC
  • Correspondent: B & E LEGAL
  • Context: Original assignment from inventors to the assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11461828
    2014 : Filed earliest priority application
    2022 : Assigned to Monticello Enterprises LLC
         : Issued
    2023 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — unclear. Monticello Enterprises LLC is the original assignee. While the name "Monticello Enterprises LLC" might suggest a non-operating entity, there's no direct evidence in the patent record or readily available public information (such as products embodying the claims or registered-agent addresses) to definitively classify it as a shell entity solely based on the patent assignment record. There are multiple entities named "Monticello Enterprises LLC" with varying statuses, including "InActive" in Florida, which makes it difficult to pinpoint without more specific identification. Other Monticello-named companies appear to sell physical goods (e.g., Monticello Shop, Monticello Soap Company), but it is not clear if these are related to the assignee of this patent.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Monticello Enterprises LLC is identified as a high-frequency plaintiff by Unified Patents in the ongoing litigation involving this patent.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. Only one assignment is recorded, so there is no chain to observe recurrence. The correspondent for the initial assignment is B & E Legal.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. Only one assignment is recorded.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The original assignment from the inventors to Monticello Enterprises LLC occurred on January 25, 2022, and the patent was issued on October 4, 2022. The infringement suits were filed on October 20, 2023, which is more than 6 months after the patent issuance and the initial assignment. However, this is the original assignment and not a subsequent transfer to an asserting entity immediately before litigation.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of the original assignee being in bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — unclear. There is no public information to suggest that Monticello Enterprises LLC is asserting patents on behalf of another operating company.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence

This verdict is based on the fact that Monticello Enterprises LLC, the current assignee, is actively asserting the patent in litigation against major companies (Apple, Samsung, Google). While there isn't definitive evidence of a shell entity transfer within the recorded assignments, the aggressive assertion strategy against large operating companies, as well as the listing of an "InActive" Monticello Enterprises LLC in Florida, suggests an NPE pattern. The absence of clear product offerings directly tied to this specific Monticello Enterprises LLC further contributes to this assessment.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ and search for patent number 11461828.