Assignment history — US Patent 12001599

Inventors

Thomas A. Howell (employer not determinable)
David Chao (employer not determinable)
C. Douglass Thomas (employer not determinable)
Peter P. Tong (employer not determinable)

Original assignee

Ingeniospec LLC is the entity named on the issued patent. Ingeniospec LLC creates, invests in, acquires, and licenses innovative technologies and patents in the electronic eyewear market. They claim to have pioneered a range of head wearable electronic products, with electronic eyewear and earbuds at the forefront of their innovation. IngenioSpec sells products such as "SnapSpec" camera sunglasses and "LIGHT" wireless audio eyewear, as well as "IngenioAudio" earbuds. They also license their patent portfolios. Unified Patents has identified IngenioSpec LLC as an NPE (Non-Practicing Entity).

Assignment timeline

No assignments are recorded for US patent 12001599 in the USPTO Assignment Center as of 2026-05-27. This indicates that Ingeniospec LLC, the original assignee, still holds ownership of the patent.
Search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12001599
    2023 : Application filed by Ingeniospec LLC
    2024 : Patent granted to Ingeniospec LLC
    2026 : Currently owned by Ingeniospec LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

Shell-entity transfer — not present. The patent has not been transferred from an operating company to a shell entity. Ingeniospec LLC, the original assignee, is itself identified as an NPE.
Known asserter in the chain — present. Ingeniospec LLC, the current and original assignee, is a known Non-Practicing Entity (NPE). Unified Patents has initiated PTAB challenges against IngenioSpec LLC's patents, identifying them as an NPE and IPVenture entity. IngenioSpec has also been actively enforcing patents related to wearable technology since November 2023, filing ITC complaints and district court lawsuits against major technology companies like ByteDance, HTC, Meta, Valve, Bose, LG, Samsung, and Sony.
Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. No assignment records are available to assess this.
Cascading transfers — not present. No assignment records are available to assess this.
Pre-litigation transfer — not present. No assignment records are available for this patent to determine pre-litigation transfers. However, Unified Patents notes that IngenioSpec LLC has been actively enforcing patents related to wearable technology since November 2023.
Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. No indication of bankruptcy for Ingeniospec LLC.
Privateering — unclear. While Ingeniospec LLC is an NPE and licenses its technologies, there is no direct evidence in the provided information of an operating company transferring this specific patent to Ingeniospec to assert on its behalf against competitors. IngenioSpec does state they partner with innovators and companies to realize intellectual creations and license their customizable patent portfolios to enhance IP positions and decrease development time.
Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent is currently owned by Ingeniospec LLC, an asserting entity. Unified Patents is, however, actively challenging IngenioSpec's patents at the PTAB.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The patent is currently owned by Ingeniospec LLC, which has been explicitly identified as a Non-Practicing Entity (NPE) by Unified Patents. Ingeniospec LLC actively engages in patent assertion, having filed numerous lawsuits and ITC complaints against technology companies concerning electronic eyewear and wearable technology. This consistent pattern of assertion by a non-practicing entity strongly indicates an NPE operation.

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