Assignment history

Inventors

Thien Nguyen, Tam Thanh Pham. The patent document does not explicitly state their employer at the time of filing. The first recorded assignment shows their interest being assigned to Incept, Inc.. There is no information to suggest the inventors departed the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The application for US11589969 was filed by Solmetex LLC. However, the inventors, Thien Nguyen and Tam Thanh Pham, initially assigned their interest to Incept, Inc.. Incept, Inc. later underwent a corporate conversion to Dryshield, LLC. Ultimately, Dryshield, LLC assigned the patent to Solmetex, LLC. Both Solmetex LLC and Dryshield, LLC are operating companies that manufacture and sell dental products embodying the claims, specifically intraoral suction and isolation devices. Solmetex LLC is a recognized leader in amalgam waste management and is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2014-01-06 (executed) / recorded 2014-03-27 — Reel 032545/0891

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: PHAM, THAM THANH; NGUYEN, THIEN
  • Assignee: INCEPT, INC.
  • Correspondent: KNOBBE, MARTENS, OLSON & BEAR, LLP, 2040 MAIN STREET, 14TH FLOOR, IRVINE, CA 92614. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Initial assignment from inventors to corporate entity.

• 2017-01-27 (executed) / recorded 2017-06-20 — Reel 042916/0954

  • Conveyance: CONVERSION
  • Assignor: INCEPT INCORPORATED
  • Assignee: DRYSHIELD, LLC
  • Correspondent: KNOBBE, MARTENS, OLSON & BEAR, LLP, 2040 MAIN STREET, 14TH FLOOR, IRVINE, CA 92614. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Corporate restructuring / change of entity name.

• 2022-06-03 (executed) / recorded 2022-06-03 — Reel 060099/0397

  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: DRYSHIELD, LLC
  • Assignee: MIDCAP FINANCIAL TRUST
  • Correspondent: POLSINELLI PC, 900 WEST 48TH PLACE, SUITE 900, KANSAS CITY, MO 64112. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Securitization (loan collateral).

• 2022-05-09 (executed) / recorded 2022-06-06 — Reel 060107/0030

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: DRYSHIELD, LLC
  • Assignee: SOLMETEX, LLC
  • Correspondent: KNOBBE, MARTENS, OLSON & BEAR, LLP, 2040 MAIN STREET, 14TH FLOOR, IRVINE, CA 92614. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Acquisition/transfer between related operating companies.

• 2022-06-03 (executed) / recorded 2022-11-02 — Reel 061637/0932

  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: DRYSHIELD, LLC
  • Assignee: MIDCAP FINANCIAL TRUST
  • Correspondent: POLSINELLI PC, 900 WEST 48TH PLACE, SUITE 900, KANSAS CITY, MO 64112. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Securitization (loan collateral).

• 2025-03-18 (executed) / recorded 2025-03-18 — Reel 070544/0954

  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: SOLMETEX, LLC; STERISIL, INC.; DRYSHIELD, LLC; AND OTHERS
  • Assignee: CHURCHILL AGENCY SERVICES LLC, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, 1800 ASHBY ROAD, SUITE 210, ST. LOUIS, MO 63132.
  • Context: Securitization (loan collateral).

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11589969
    2014 : Filed; Inventors assigned to Incept
    2017 : Incept converted to Dryshield
    2022 : Dryshield gave security interest to Midcap
         : Dryshield assigned to Solmetex
         : Dryshield gave 2nd security interest to Midcap
    2023 : Patent Issued
    2025 : Solmetex gave security interest to Churchill

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The assignees Incept, Inc., Dryshield, LLC, and Solmetex, LLC are all operating companies that ship products embodying the claims. Midcap Financial Trust and Churchill Agency Services LLC are financial entities involved in securitization, not shell IP licensing entities.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. None of the assignees (Incept, Dryshield, Solmetex, Midcap Financial Trust, Churchill Agency Services LLC) are identified as known NPEs or patent asserters on public lists.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. KNOBBE, MARTENS, OLSON & BEAR, LLP served as the correspondent for multiple assignments in the chain (Reel 032545/0891, Reel 042916/0954, Reel 060107/0030). POLSINELLI PC also served as correspondent for two security interest recordings (Reel 060099/0397 and Reel 061637/0932). This indicates consistent legal representation for the operating companies and their financing activities.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. The transfers involve a corporate conversion and an acquisition between operating entities over several years, not rapid, consecutive transfers through chained LLCs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The last operating company transfer (Dryshield to Solmetex) was executed on 2022-05-09 (Reel 060107/0030). The earliest identified litigation for this patent is a US District Court case filed in the Michigan Western District Court (case/1:24-cv-00954) and an IPR filed in July 2025. These dates are more than six months after the operating company transfer.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of any assignee in the chain having undergone bankruptcy proceedings and selling patent assets.
7. Privateering — not present. There is no evidence of an operating company transferring the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion
The assignment chain demonstrates that US11589969 has consistently been owned by operating companies (Incept, Inc., Dryshield, LLC, Solmetex, LLC) that manufacture and sell products embodying the claims. The transfers recorded reflect typical corporate activities such as restructuring, acquisition, and securing financing, rather than a transfer to a non-practicing entity. Solmetex, LLC, the current assignee, is an operating company actively involved in the dental industry.
USPTO Assignment Center search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/US11589969