Patent 11871811

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.

Active provider: Google · gemini-2.5-flash

Ownership chain (2)

Asserters network →

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

2023-10-30 · Assignment
Craig Cheney, Michael Pratt FAST IP, LLC
internal reorg
2025-06-13 · Security Agreement
FAST IP, LLC, HANDSFREE LABS LICENSING, LLC, HANDSFREE LABS, INC., KIZIK DESIGN, LLC SIENA LENDING GROUP LLC
securitization

Assignment history

✓ Generated

Inventors

Michael Pratt (Employer at time of filing: Fast IP LLC, implied by immediate assignment)
Craig Cheney (Employer at time of filing: Fast IP LLC, implied by immediate assignment)

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Fast IP LLC.

Fast IP LLC's primary line of business is patent holding and licensing related to hands-free footwear technology. While Fast IP LLC itself does not appear to ship products, it is affiliated with HandsFree Labs Licensing, LLC, and Kizik Design, LLC. Kizik Design, LLC manufactures and sells "hands-free slip-on shoes" embodying the claimed technology. HandsFree Labs, Inc. is described as the "innovation and IP engine behind Kizik®" and licenses its technology to other major footwear brands like Nike and New Balance.

Fast IP LLC is currently operating and actively involved in litigation concerning this patent.

Assignment timeline

The following assignment records are based on the legal status and status history provided in the U.S. Patent No. 11,871,811 Google Patents page. Reel/frame numbers and correspondent information are not available from the provided patent text or the standard Google Patents interface.

2023-10-30 (recorded)
- Conveyance: Reassignment
- Assignor: CHENEY, CRAIG, PRATT, MICHAEL
- Assignee: FAST IP, LLC
- Correspondent: Not available.
- Context: Transfer of inventors' interest to the company.
2025-06-13 (recorded)
- Conveyance: Security Interest
- Assignor: FAST IP, LLC, HANDSFREE LABS LICENSING, LLC, HANDSFREE LABS, INC., KIZIK DESIGN, LLC
- Assignee: SIENA LENDING GROUP LLC
- Correspondent: Not available.
- Context: Security interest granted by the IP-owning and licensing entities, along with the product-shipping affiliate, to Siena Lending Group LLC, an asset-based lender.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11871811
    2023 : Application filed by Fast IP LLC
         : Inventors assign to Fast IP LLC
    2024 : Patent granted
    2025 : Security interest to Siena Lending
         : Infringement suit filed
    2026 : IPR petition filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

Shell-entity transfer — Present. Fast IP LLC is described as an "IP holding company" that owns the patents, and HandsFree Labs Licensing, LLC is noted as a "licensing" entity. This structure, where distinct entities manage and license intellectual property separate from the product-shipping brand (Kizik Design, LLC), is characteristic of an IP monetization strategy often associated with non-practicing entities (NPEs).
- Cite: The assignments to FAST IP, LLC (2023-10-30) and the security interest from FAST IP, LLC and HANDSFREE LABS LICENSING, LLC (2025-06-13).
Known asserter in the chain — Not present. None of the named entities (Fast IP LLC, HandsFree Labs Licensing, LLC, Kizik Design, LLC, Siena Lending Group LLC) are on the specific list of high-frequency NPEs provided.
Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. Correspondent information is not available from the provided patent text.
Cascading transfers — Not present. The recorded events show a direct assignment from inventors to the initial assignee, followed by a security interest, rather than multiple consecutive transfers through chained LLCs in a short timeframe.
Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The security interest was assigned to Siena Lending Group LLC on June 13, 2025, which is within six months (specifically, approximately 41 days) before the patent infringement lawsuit was filed on July 24, 2025. This indicates a financial arrangement related to the patent portfolio in close proximity to the initiation of litigation.
Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence suggests a bankruptcy-related transfer.
Privateering — Unclear. While Kizik is an operating company that sells products, the litigation is brought by the IP holding and licensing arms (HandsFree Labs Licensing, LLC, Fast IP, LLC). This structure could be a form of privateering if the assertion primarily benefits Kizik against competitors, or it could be a broader IP monetization strategy, as HandsFree Labs also licenses to other major footwear brands like Nike and New Balance.
Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The presence of dedicated "IP holding" (Fast IP LLC) and "licensing" (HandsFree Labs Licensing, LLC) entities, which are distinct from the product-shipping brand (Kizik Design, LLC), strongly indicates a strategy focused on patent monetization and assertion. Furthermore, the timing of the security interest on June 13, 2025, just over a month before the infringement lawsuit filing on July 24, 2025, is a clear pre-litigation financial structuring signal.

For verification, see the USPTO Patent Assignment Search at https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ or https://assignment.uspto.gov/patent/index.html.

Generated 5/29/2026, 9:06:20 PM