Assignment history

Inventors

• Thomas A. Howell (Ingeniospec LLC, implied)
• David Chao (Ingeniospec LLC, implied)
• C. Douglass Thomas (Ingeniospec LLC, implied)
• Peter P. Tong (Ingeniospec LLC, implied)

At the time of filing, the inventors are implicitly associated with Ingeniospec LLC, the original assignee and applicant for the patent. There is no information to suggest any unusual departure patterns for the inventors from the original assignee.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Ingeniospec LLC. Ingeniospec LLC does not appear to ship products embodying the claims of US11921355. Its primary line of business appears to be patent licensing and assertion, as evidenced by its active litigation against major technology companies regarding related technologies. Ingeniospec LLC is currently operating, as indicated by its ongoing litigation activities.

Assignment timeline

• 2005-07-28 (executed) / recorded 2023-05-08 — Reel 042295/0073
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: Thomas A. Howell, David Chao, C. Douglass Thomas, Peter P. Tong (Inventors)
  • Assignee: INGENIOSPEC LLC
  • Correspondent: FISH & RICHARDSON P.C., 1425 K STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DC, 20005.
  • Context: Transfer of inventorship rights from the individual inventors to the corporate entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11921355
    2005 : Inventorship assigned to Ingeniospec LLC
    2023 : Application filed by Ingeniospec LLC
    2024 : Issued to Ingeniospec LLC
    2025 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Not present. The patent was initially assigned from the inventors to Ingeniospec LLC, and no subsequent transfers to named shell entities are recorded for this specific patent number. Ingeniospec LLC itself functions as a licensing entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Ingeniospec LLC is explicitly identified as having filed infringement complaints against multiple major technology companies, asserting patents related to electronic eyewear, augmented/virtual reality headsets, and earbuds, confirming its status as a high-frequency plaintiff.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. Only one assignment for US11921355 is recorded (Reel 042295/0073), handled by FISH & RICHARDSON P.C. A single appearance by a firm, even a large one that may represent NPEs, does not meet the "recurrence" threshold for this signal within the scope of this patent's assignment chain.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There is only one recorded assignment from the inventors to Ingeniospec LLC.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The assignment from inventors to Ingeniospec LLC was recorded on 2023-05-08 (Reel 042295/0073), while the first infringement suit naming this patent was filed on 2025-07-31. This period exceeds the 6-month threshold for a pre-litigation transfer.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication of Ingeniospec LLC undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While Ingeniospec LLC is an NPE, there is no direct evidence provided in the patent text or accessible through general search to confirm privateering arrangements (i.e., assertion on behalf of an operating company competitor).
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain concludes with Ingeniospec LLC, an entity known for patent assertion, not defensive aggregation.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

Ingeniospec LLC, the current and original assignee of US11921355, has a documented history of actively asserting patents against major technology companies (e.g., Apple, ByteDance, HTC, Meta, Samsung) as a Non-Practicing Entity. This direct assertion activity is a strong and definitive signal of NPE behavior, despite the absence of other specific transfer-related NPE signals in this patent's immediate assignment chain.

USPTO Patent Assignment Search for US11921355: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/