Patent 11761390

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Ownership chain (2)

Asserters network →

Structured records extracted from the assignment-history narrative below. Each entity links to its full ownership-network profile.

  1. 2013-10-31 · recorded 2022-02-16 · reel 059022/0109 · Assignment

    Mark J. Sarder, Leigh Jenison, Ian SchmitCHAMPION ENGINE TECHNOLOGY, LLC

    internal reorg

  2. 2018-11-27 · recorded 2022-02-16 · reel 059167/0262 · Assignment

    CHAMPION ENGINE TECHNOLOGY, LLCCHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT, INC.

    internal reorg

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Inventors

  • Mark J. Sarder
  • Leigh Jenison
  • Ian Schmit

Their employer at the time of filing is not explicitly stated in the provided patent text, but the patent was assigned to Champion Power Equipment Inc. and Champion Engine Technology, LLC.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is Champion Power Equipment Inc.. Their primary line of business is manufacturing engine-driven electrical generators, specifically dual-fuel generators. They ship products embodying the claims, as the patent details a selector switch for dual fuel generators. Champion Power Equipment Inc. is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

  • 2013-10-31 (executed) / recorded 2022-02-16 — Reel 059022/0109

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: Mark J. Sarder, Leigh Jenison, Ian Schmit
    • Assignee: Champion Engine Technology, LLC
    • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided patent text.
    • Context: Internal reorg (transfer from individual inventors to an LLC).

  • 2018-11-27 (executed) / recorded 2022-02-16 — Reel 059167/0262

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: Champion Engine Technology, LLC
    • Assignee: Champion Power Equipment, Inc.
    • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided patent text.
    • Context: Internal reorg (transfer between related corporate entities).

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11761390
    2013 : Filed by inventors
    2013 : Assigned to Champion Engine Technology LLC
    2018 : Assigned to Champion Power Equipment Inc
    2023 : Issued to Champion Power Equipment Inc

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The assignees, Champion Engine Technology, LLC and Champion Power Equipment, Inc., appear to be related operating companies involved in manufacturing dual fuel generators, based on the patent description and assignee information.
  2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. None of the named assignees (Champion Engine Technology, LLC or Champion Power Equipment, Inc.) appear on common public NPE lists based on the provided information.
  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. The correspondent information is not explicitly provided in the patent details for the recorded assignments (Reel 059022/0109 and Reel 059167/0262).
  4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are two assignments recorded on the same date (2022-02-16), but they represent a clear chain of title from individual inventors to Champion Engine Technology, LLC and then to Champion Power Equipment, Inc. These transfers are spaced several years apart in terms of execution dates (2013 and 2018), not within 24 months.
  5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The patent was issued on September 19, 2023. While litigation cases have been filed related to this patent family (e.g., IPR2025-01438 filed, US case filed in Wisconsin Eastern District Court, US case filed in California Central District Court, US case filed in Arizona District Court), the provided text does not specify the exact filing dates of the first infringement suits to directly compare against the assignment dates. The assignments recorded on February 16, 2022, predate the patent issuance and any listed litigation dates in 2023-2025.
  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for Champion Power Equipment Inc. or Champion Engine Technology, LLC.
  7. Privateering — not present. There is no evidence suggesting a transfer to an NPE for assertion on behalf of an operating company.
  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not end at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The patent was initially assigned by the individual inventors to Champion Engine Technology, LLC in 2013 and subsequently to Champion Power Equipment, Inc. in 2018, both transfers being recorded in 2022 (Reel 059022/0109 and Reel 059167/0262). Champion Power Equipment, Inc. is the current assignee and, based on the patent's subject matter (dual fuel generators), appears to be an operating company that manufactures products embodying the claims. The reported litigation activities, including an IPR and district court cases, suggest assertion by the operating company rather than an NPE.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

Generated 5/22/2026, 6:47:54 PM