Assignment history

Inventors

• Christopher B. Austin: No employer explicitly listed at the time of filing. The Google Patents information states "Application filed by Individual" and "Original Assignee: Individual," suggesting he was not employed by an entity that was initially assigned the patent.

Original assignee

The original assignee, as per the Google Patents information, was "Individual," referring to Christopher B. Austin. The patent was later assigned to CHARGELOGIC LLC. Since the original assignee was an individual inventor, the questions about product shipment, primary line of business, and current status don't directly apply in the same way they would for a corporate entity.

Assignment timeline

USPTO Assignment Search results for US11721844:

• 2026-02-23 (executed) / recorded 2026-02-23 — Reel 060007/0304
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Austin, Christopher B. (Individual)
  • Assignee: CHARGELOGIC LLC, 6080 Tennyson Drive, Unit 100, Plano, TX, 75024
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey B. Stone, 6080 Tennyson Drive, Unit 100, Plano, TX, 75024. This correspondent's address matches the assignee's address.
  • Context: Transfer of patent from individual inventor to an LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11721844
    2022 : Filed by Christopher B. Austin (Individual)
    2023 : Issued to Christopher B. Austin
    2026 : Assigned to CHARGELOGIC LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was assigned from the individual inventor, Christopher B. Austin, to CHARGELOGIC LLC on 2026-02-23 (Reel 060007/0304). CHARGELOGIC LLC's website explicitly states, "At ChargeLogic, we specialize in licensing innovative patents that enhance the charging experience for electric vehicles." and "ChargeLogic LLC offers licensing solutions to a portfolio of patents that cover technology relating to Electric Vehicle charging." This indicates a primary business model centered on licensing patents rather than producing products, which is characteristic of a shell or licensing-only entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. While CHARGELOGIC LLC describes itself as a patent licensing entity, it does not currently appear on widely recognized public NPE lists such as Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, or Intellectual Ventures in the provided search results. However, Unified Patents has noted "Chargelogic EV battery patent prior art found," suggesting they are on their radar for potential assertion activities.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. There is only one recorded assignment in the chain from the inventor to CHARGELOGIC LLC. The correspondent, Jeffrey B. Stone, is associated with the assignee's address, which is common in patent assignments. Given only one recorded assignment, there's no recurrence to observe.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. Only one assignment has been recorded.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. While the patent family has litigation noted and a "US case filed in Texas Western District Court," the specific date of the first infringement suit naming this patent is not precisely provided in relation to the assignment date (2026-02-23). The litigation notes are general to the "family" rather than specifically tied to US11721844 and its assignment date.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The assignment was from an individual inventor to an LLC, not from a bankrupt operating company.

7. Privateering — Not present. There's no indication of an operating company transferring the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain terminates with CHARGELOGIC LLC, which identifies itself as a patent licensing entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence

The verdict is moderate confidence due to the explicit self-identification of CHARGELOGIC LLC as a patent licensing company, indicating a non-operating entity business model. This is a strong signal for a shell entity transfer, as evidenced by the assignment on 2026-02-23 (Reel 060007/0304). While other classic NPE signals like repeat correspondents or cascading transfers are not observable with only one recorded assignment, the stated business model strongly supports an NPE classification.

Verification of assignment record can be found at the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/