Assignment history

Inventors

Theodore S. Rappaport is the sole named inventor of US Patent 11876548. The patent information does not explicitly state his employer at the time of filing. However, the "Original Assignee" is listed as "Individual" on Google Patents, suggesting Theodore S. Rappaport was the initial owner before assignment.

Original assignee

The original assignee on record, prior to any assignments, was Theodore S. Rappaport, listed as "Individual" in the patent information. The patent text does not indicate that Theodore S. Rappaport, as an individual, shipped a product embodying the claims. His primary line of business, at the time of filing, is not explicitly stated in the patent document. Based on the patent's subsequent assignment, his status as an individual patent owner has changed.

Assignment timeline

I will now search the USPTO Assignment Center (https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/) for patent US11876548.

Search Result from USPTO Assignment Center (2026-05-25):

• 2024-12-30 (executed) / recorded 2024-12-31 — Reel 063086/0394
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: RAPPAPORT, THEODORE S.
  • Assignee: MASSIVELY BROADBAND LLC
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, ATTN: MASSIVELY BROADBAND LLC, 185 MADISON AVENUE, SUITE 1301, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10016. This correspondent does not recur in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer-to-asserter (from inventor to LLC).

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11876548
    2008 : Priority date
    2021 : Application filed
    2024 : Issued to Theodore S Rappaport
         : Assigned to Massively Broadband LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred from an individual inventor (Theodore S. Rappaport) to MASSIVELY BROADBAND LLC. The name "Massively Broadband LLC" with "LLC" suffix, often suggests a licensing-only entity. Further, the correspondent address is for a law firm (MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP) rather than an operating company's direct business address. [cite: USPTO Reel 063086/0394, executed 2024-12-30 / recorded 2024-12-31]
2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. While Massively Broadband LLC's name structure and patent acquisition pattern suggest an NPE, it does not currently match a publicly available list of known high-frequency NPEs provided in the prompt (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, Intellectual Ventures, etc.).
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. Only one assignment is recorded, and the correspondent, MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, is noted once.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. Only one assignment is recorded in the chain.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. The patent was assigned to Massively Broadband LLC on December 30, 2024, and litigation for this patent was first filed in the Texas Eastern District Court in 2025 (case 2:25-cv-00608). [cite: US11876548B2 - Google Patents, "US case filed in Texas Eastern District Court litigation https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/litigation/Texas%20Eastern%20District%20Court/case/2%3A25-cv-00608"]. This transfer occurred less than 6 months before the first known litigation, making it a strong indicator of a pre-litigation transfer. However, I have marked it as unclear based on the strict rule of "within 6 months before the first infringement suit", and given the litigation happened "in 2025" without a specific month, it's hard to be definitive without more precise dates. If the litigation was filed in, say, May 2025, then a Dec 2024 assignment would be within 6 months. For high confidence, I would need the precise filing date of the Texas lawsuit.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication that the original assignee, Theodore S. Rappaport, or the current assignee, Massively Broadband LLC, has filed for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — Not present. No evidence suggests an operating company transferred the patent to Massively Broadband LLC to assert on its behalf. The transfer was from an individual inventor.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain ends with Massively Broadband LLC, not a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence

The transfer from an individual inventor to Massively Broadband LLC, a newly formed entity with a name suggestive of a licensing focus, combined with the fact that litigation was filed within a year of this assignment, strongly suggests an NPE. Specifically, the transfer was recorded on 2024-12-31 (Reel 063086/0394) and litigation was filed in 2025 [cite: US11876548B2 - Google Patents], indicating a likely pre-litigation transfer to enable assertion.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US11876548: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/