Assignment history

Inventors

• Samuel English Anthony (Co-founder and CTO at Perceptive Automata Inc. at the time of filing).

Original assignee

The original assignee, Perceptive Automata Inc., was a company focused on developing human behavior understanding AI for autonomous vehicles and robots. Their primary product was "State of Mind AI (SOMAI)," a software module designed to help autonomous vehicles understand the intentions and awareness of pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users for safer and smoother driving experiences. The company shut down operations in 2022 after failing to secure Series B funding, and its CEO was attempting to sell its intellectual property. Therefore, Perceptive Automata Inc. is currently dissolved or out of business.

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Assignment Center (https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/) was searched for patent number 11520346.

• 2020-02-05 (executed) / recorded 2020-02-05 — Reel 050516/0651

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ANTHONY, SAMUEL ENGLISH
  • Assignee: PERCEPTIVE AUTOMATA, INC.
  • Correspondent: Matthew S. Stipp, CHOATE, HALL & STEWART LLP, TWO SEAPORT LANE, BOSTON, MA 02210
  • Context: Transfer from inventor to original assignee.

• 2021-04-01 (executed) / recorded 2021-04-05 — Reel 056461/0616

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: PERCEPTIVE AUTOMATA, INC.
  • Assignee: AVENUE VENTURE OPPORTUNITIES FUND, LP
  • Correspondent: Joshua L. Klatzkin, WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP, 7 LARKIN STREET, ANDOVER, MA 01810
  • Context: Securitization (secured financing).

• 2025-02-19 (executed) / recorded 2025-02-24 — Reel 063715/0675

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: PERCEPTIVE AUTOMATA, INC.
  • Assignee: PERCEPTIVE AUTOMATA LLC
  • Correspondent: Joshua L. Klatzkin, WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP, 7 LARKIN STREET, ANDOVER, MA 01810. This correspondent recurs on this patent chain.
  • Context: Internal reorg (transfer from Inc. to LLC, likely for IP holding).

• 2025-03-25 (executed) / recorded 2025-03-26 — Reel 063991/0082

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: PERCEPTIVE AUTOMATA LLC
  • Assignee: PICCADILLY PATENT FUNDING LLC, AS SECURITY HOLDER
  • Correspondent: Michael S. Zuniga, PILLSBURY WINTHROP SHAW PITTMAN LLP, 2550 HANOVER STREET, PALO ALTO, CA 94304-1619
  • Context: Securitization (secured financing, likely for litigation funding).

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11520346
    2020 : Inventor assigned to Perceptive Automata Inc
         : Security agreement for Avenue Venture
    2021
    2022 : Perceptive Automata Inc wound down
    2023
    2024
    2025 : Assigned to Perceptive Automata LLC
         : Security agreement for Piccadilly Patent

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The transfer from Perceptive Automata Inc. to Perceptive Automata LLC on Reel 063715/0675 (recorded 2025-02-24) after the "Inc." entity wound down operations in 2022 suggests a move of the IP to a dedicated licensing/holding entity. Perceptive Automata LLC appears to be a licensing-only entity, given the previous operating company's shutdown and the subsequent security agreement with a patent funding entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear. While the ultimate assignee, Perceptive Automata LLC, has initiated litigation, it is not explicitly listed as a "known asserter" on public NPE lists in the provided context. However, the subsequent security agreement with "PICCADILLY PATENT FUNDING LLC, AS SECURITY HOLDER" (Reel 063991/0082, recorded 2025-03-26) is highly indicative of a patent assertion financing arrangement.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Joshua L. Klatzkin of WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP is listed as the correspondent for both the 2021-04-01 security agreement (Reel 056461/0616) and the 2025-02-19 assignment to Perceptive Automata LLC (Reel 063715/0675).
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are no multiple consecutive assignments through chained LLCs in less than 24 months. The transfers are spread across several years.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The assignment from Perceptive Automata Inc. to Perceptive Automata LLC was executed on 2025-02-19 and recorded on 2025-02-24 (Reel 063715/0675). The first infringement suits against Tesla were filed on 2025-07-23. This is approximately five months between the assignment and the first litigation, falling within the 6-month window often associated with pre-litigation transfers.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Perceptive Automata Inc. wound down operations but the records do not indicate a formal bankruptcy filing and patent sale through those proceedings.
7. Privateering — unclear. While Perceptive Automata Inc. was an operating company that developed technology, its shutdown and the subsequent assertion by Perceptive Automata LLC do not clearly indicate that the assertion is being made on behalf of the original operating company against its competitors. It's more of an IP monetization play by the successor entity.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. This verdict is based on several strong signals. The transfer of the patent from the dissolved operating company Perceptive Automata Inc. to Perceptive Automata LLC (Reel 063715/0675, 2025-02-19) after the operating company ceased operations is a clear shell-entity transfer. This transfer occurred approximately five months before the first infringement suits against Tesla were filed, indicating a pre-litigation transfer. Furthermore, the presence of a security agreement with Piccadilly Patent Funding LLC (Reel 063991/0082, 2025-03-25) strongly suggests patent assertion financing, a common practice for NPEs. The recurrence of the correspondent Joshua L. Klatzkin on multiple recordings also supports this conclusion.

USPTO Assignment Center search for verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ (Search for patent number 11520346).