Assignment history

Inventors

• Lishan Aklog: Employer not definitively determinable at the time of the earliest priority filing (December 20, 2007) or the application filing (July 1, 2019) from the patent text alone. However, an assignment record from 2023 shows Lishan Aklog assigning his interest to Vortex Medical Inc., which then assigned to AngioDynamics, Inc. This suggests an association with Vortex Medical Inc. at the time of the assignment.
• Michael J. Glennon: Similar to Lishan Aklog, employer not definitively determinable at the time of filing. An assignment record from 2023 shows Michael J. Glennon assigning his interest to Vortex Medical Inc., which then assigned to AngioDynamics, Inc. This suggests an association with Vortex Medical Inc. at the time of the assignment.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is AngioDynamics Inc. They ship products embodying the claims, specifically the AngioVac and AlphaVac systems, which utilize technology related to catheter-based removal of undesirable material from the circulatory system. Their primary line of business is the development, manufacture, and sale of medical devices for vascular access, peripheral vascular disease, and oncology. AngioDynamics Inc. is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2022-08-31 (executed) / recorded 2022-09-02 — Reel 061214/0087
  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: ANGIODYNAMICS, INC.
  • Assignee: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
  • Correspondent: ROPES & GRAY LLP, 1211 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10036
  • Context: Securitization of assets (including intellectual property) as collateral for a loan.
• 2023-01-18 (executed) / recorded 2023-01-18 — Reel 062332/0041
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: AKLOG, LISHAN; GLENNON, MICHAEL J.
  • Assignee: VORTEX MEDICAL INC.
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP
  • Context: Inventors assigning their rights to an intermediate entity, likely their own company.
• 2023-01-18 (executed) / recorded 2023-01-18 — Reel 062332/0047
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: VORTEX MEDICAL INC.
  • Assignee: ANGIODYNAMICS, INC.
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP. This correspondent also appears on Reel 062332/0041.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from Vortex Medical Inc. to AngioDynamics, Inc., likely part of an acquisition or intellectual property transfer.
• 2023-06-08 (executed) / recorded 2023-06-15 — Reel 062835/0044
  • Conveyance: RELEASE BY SECURED PARTY
  • Assignor: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
  • Assignee: ANGIODYNAMICS, INC.
  • Correspondent: ROPES & GRAY LLP, 1211 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10036. This correspondent also appears on Reel 061214/0087.
  • Context: Release of the previously recorded security interest, indicating the debt collateralized by the patent has been satisfied or restructured.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11589880
    2007 : Provisional filed by inventors
    2019 : Application for this patent filed
    2022 : Security interest to JPMorgan
    2023 : Inventors assign to Vortex Medical
         : Vortex Medical to AngioDynamics
         : Patent issued
         : JPMorgan releases interest
    2026 : AngioDynamics files suit

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Unclear. While Vortex Medical Inc. acted as an intermediate assignee from the inventors to AngioDynamics, Inc. (Reel 062332/0041 and 062332/0047), there is no readily available evidence to suggest it is a shell entity specifically for patent licensing or assertion, rather than an entity involved in the development or initial commercialization of the technology later transferred to AngioDynamics.
2. Known asserter in the chain: Not present. AngioDynamics, Inc. is an operating company that manufactures and sells medical devices, and is the plaintiff in the current litigation.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Not present. While MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP (Reel 062332/0041, 062332/0047) and ROPES & GRAY LLP (Reel 061214/0087, 062835/0044) each appear on multiple, related transactions within the chain, neither firm is typically associated with high-frequency NPE assertion patterns, nor are they recurring across unrelated chains.
4. Cascading transfers: Unclear/Not present in NPE sense. There were two assignments executed and recorded on the same day (2023-01-18, Reel 062332/0041 and 062332/0047) moving the patent from the inventors, through Vortex Medical Inc., to AngioDynamics, Inc. While rapid, this represents the consolidation of inventor-originated IP into an operating company, rather than a chain of transfers between multiple shell entities.
5. Pre-litigation transfer: Not present. The last relevant assignment event (release of security interest) was recorded on 2023-06-15 (Reel 062835/0044), which is well over six months before the infringement lawsuit was filed on April 23, 2026.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for any of the assignors or assignees.
7. Privateering: Not present. AngioDynamics, Inc. is the current owner and the plaintiff, directly asserting its patent.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present. The chain terminates with AngioDynamics, Inc., an operating company, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

AngioDynamics, Inc., an operating company manufacturing and selling medical devices (including its AngioVac and AlphaVac systems), is the current assignee as confirmed by the release of security interest recorded on 2023-06-15 (Reel 062835/0044). The company is directly asserting the patent against a competitor, Endovascular Engineering, Inc., which is characteristic of an operating-company assertion strategy.

USPTO Patent Assignment Search: US11589880