Assignment history

Inventors

The named inventors for US Patent 11,760,963 are Frank Borges Llosa and Stephen Zarpas. At the time of filing, both appear to be associated with the assignee, Ketoneaid Inc., as Stephen Zarpas is listed as the correspondent for both assignments of inventor interest to Ketoneaid Inc. and is also an inventor. No unusual patterns, such as inventors departing the original assignee shortly after filing, are determinable from the provided information.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Ketoneaid Inc. This entity appears to be an operating company, as evidenced by its active litigation of the patent against other businesses in the ketogenic health space, suggesting it manufactures or licenses products embodying the claims. Its primary line of business, based on the patent's title and description, is related to ketogenic beverages and nutritional supplements. Ketoneaid Inc. is currently operating and actively asserting this patent.

Assignment timeline

The following assignments are recorded for US Patent 11,760,963, reflecting the transfer of rights from the inventors to the original assignee. No post-issuance assignments transferring ownership from Ketoneaid Inc. to another entity are recorded.

• 2016-04-21 (executed) / recorded 2021-01-29 — Reel 055187/0122
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ZARPAS, STEVEN M.
  • Assignee: KETONEAID, INC.
  • Correspondent: STEVEN M ZARPAS, Zarpas, S.M. (Attorney at Law), 11825 W. MARKET STREET STE B, OAKTON, VA 22124. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal transfer of inventor's interest to the company.
• 2023-07-09 (executed) / recorded 2023-07-10 — Reel 064203/0155
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: LLOSA, FRANK BORGES
  • Assignee: KETONEAID, INC.
  • Correspondent: STEVEN ZARPAS, KETONEAID INC, 11825 W. Market St, Ste B, OAKTON, VA 22124. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal transfer of inventor's interest to the company.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11760963
    2016 : Inventor Zarpas assigns to Ketoneaid
    2018 : Filed by Ketoneaid Inc
    2023 : Inventor Llosa assigns to Ketoneaid
         : Issued to Ketoneaid Inc
    2025 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The recorded assignments are from individual inventors to Ketoneaid Inc., which appears to be an operating company.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Ketoneaid Inc. is not identified on common NPE lists.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Steven M. Zarpas (also an inventor) is listed as the correspondent for both assignments to Ketoneaid Inc. (Reel 055187/0122 and Reel 064203/0155).
4. Cascading transfers — not present. Only two assignments from individual inventors to the same company, recorded over a period of years.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The most recent assignment was recorded on 2023-07-10 (Reel 064203/0155), while the first infringement suit was filed on 2025-04-25, which is more than six months prior to the litigation.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication that Ketoneaid Inc. has filed for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — unclear. There is no public information to suggest that Ketoneaid Inc. is operating as a privateer.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent is currently owned and being asserted by Ketoneaid Inc., not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

This verdict is based on Ketoneaid Inc. being the original assignee and the current owner, as no post-issuance assignments are recorded. Furthermore, Ketoneaid Inc. is actively using this patent as a plaintiff in an infringement lawsuit (KetoneAid, Inc. v. Suspend Aging L.L.C. et al, Case No. 3:25-cv-01234), indicating it is asserting its intellectual property rights as an operating company.

(Verification via USPTO Patent Assignment Search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/)