Assignment history

Inventors

The named inventors for U.S. Patent No. 11,829,518 are Thomas A. Howell, David Chao, C. Douglass Thomas, and Peter P. Tong. The patent application was filed by Ingeniospec LLC, which is also listed as the original assignee [cite: US11829518B1]. While the patent document does not explicitly state the employers of the inventors at the time of filing, it is highly probable they were either employed by Ingeniospec LLC or had assigned their rights to Ingeniospec LLC prior to or at the time of the patent application filing. No information is available in the patent text regarding inventors departing the original assignee.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent as the original assignee is Ingeniospec LLC [cite: US11829518B1].
Based solely on the provided patent text, it is not determinable whether Ingeniospec LLC ships a product embodying the claims, nor is its primary line of business explicitly stated. The current status of Ingeniospec LLC is that it is actively asserting the patent in litigation, as evidenced by multiple district court cases and a settled Inter Partes Review proceeding [cite: US11829518B1].

Assignment timeline

A search of the USPTO Patent Assignment Search database for patent number US11829518 on 2026-05-24 yielded no recorded assignments. This indicates that Ingeniospec LLC, listed as the applicant and original assignee, remains the current owner of record for this specific patent number.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11829518
    2004 : Priority claimed from earlier applications
    2023 : Application filed by Ingeniospec LLC
    2023 : Patent issued to Ingeniospec LLC
    2024 : First infringement suit filed (TX E.D.)
    2025 : IPR filed (settled pre-institution)
    2025 : Anticipated expiration
    2025 : Most recent infringement suit filed (MA D.)

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — unclear. While Ingeniospec LLC is actively involved in litigation, the provided patent document does not contain information about whether it ships products, its registered-agent address, or its corporate structure (e.g., single-member LLC) to definitively classify it as a shell entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear. Ingeniospec LLC is not identified as a known high-frequency plaintiff on the public NPE lists referenced (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, Intellectual Ventures, etc.) in the provided context, nor is there external search data to confirm. However, the litigation activity suggests it is an asserting entity.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. As no assignments are recorded for this patent, there is no chain of correspondents to evaluate for recurrence.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. No assignments are recorded for this patent.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. No assignments are recorded for this patent. Ingeniospec LLC filed the application and is recorded as the original assignee.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. No records indicate a bankruptcy-related transfer for Ingeniospec LLC.
7. Privateering — unclear. The patent document does not provide information to determine if Ingeniospec LLC is asserting on behalf of an operating company.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent is held by Ingeniospec LLC and is being asserted in litigation, which is the opposite of being held by a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence

The confidence for NPE classification is moderate because Ingeniospec LLC is actively asserting this patent against multiple major technology companies (Apple, Meta, Amazon, Snap, Bose) in district court litigation, as detailed in the litigation summary. This pattern of assertion, combined with the lack of information in the patent document indicating product sales or a clear operating business, suggests a primary focus on licensing and enforcement. However, without concrete evidence such as a registered-agent address or a confirmed single-purpose LLC status, it cannot be classified as "high confidence" based solely on the provided internal data.

Verification link: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/