Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor is Rabih S. Ballout. The patent text and Google Patents information indicate that Rabih S. Ballout was the original assignee and the application was filed by an individual, suggesting that he was either self-employed or not formally associated with a corporate entity for the purpose of this patent at the time of filing.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent (granted 2024-06-18) was Rabih S. Ballout, the individual inventor, as the assignment to Paygeo LLC occurred after the issue date. The patent describes the invention as the "PayGeo service" and "PayGeo platform," implying that an operating company would commercialize this technology. The first corporate assignee, Paygeo LLC, appears to be the operating entity associated with this service. Paygeo LLC's primary line of business, as described by the patent, is providing a platform for mobile financial transactions, digital currency exchange, and fraud prevention [cite: US12014347B2 patent text]. Paygeo LLC is currently active, as indicated by its involvement in ongoing litigation [cite: US12014347B2 patent text].

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Patent Assignment Search (https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/) for US12014347 reveals the following records:

• 2024-10-18 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-24 — Reel 066373/0972

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: BALLOUT, RABIH S.
  • Assignee: PAYGEO LLC
  • Correspondent: BASS, DAVID P. (LAW OFFICE OF DAVID P. BASS P.C., 286 WESTMINSTER ROAD, WEST HEMPSTEAD, NY, 11552)
  • Context: Transfer of patent ownership from the individual inventor to a corporate entity, likely for commercialization or assertion.

• 2025-03-25 (executed) / recorded 2025-03-28 — Reel 066606/0001

  • Conveyance: PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: PAYGEO LLC
  • Assignee: PICCADILLY PATENT FUNDING LLC, AS SECURITY HOLDER
  • Correspondent: GREGORY P. LEEDS (Leeds, LLP, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 42nd Flr, New York, NY, 10020)
  • Context: Securitization of the patent by Paygeo LLC to obtain funding, with the patent used as collateral.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12014347
    2021 : Filed by Rabih S Ballout
    2024 : Issued to Rabih S Ballout
         : Assigned to Paygeo LLC
    2025 : Security interest to Piccadilly

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Unclear for Paygeo LLC. While the patent was transferred from an individual to Paygeo LLC (Reel 066373/0972, executed 2024-10-18), the patent itself details the "PayGeo service" [cite: US12014347B2 patent text], suggesting Paygeo LLC is intended to be the operating company for this technology. Present for Piccadilly Patent Funding LLC (Reel 066606/0001), whose name and function ("AS SECURITY HOLDER") suggest a focus on patent assets and funding, without direct product sales.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Paygeo LLC is identified as the patent owner against whom Unified Patents, a defensive aggregator targeting NPEs, filed an IPR (IPR2025-01555) [cite: US12014347B2 patent text]. This strongly indicates Paygeo LLC is engaged in patent assertion.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. The two recorded assignments list different correspondent attorneys and firms: David P. Bass of Law Office of David P. Bass P.C. (Reel 066373/0972) and Gregory P. Leeds of Leeds, LLP (Reel 066606/0001).
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There are two transfers within a short period, but they are an initial assignment of ownership and then a security interest, not multiple consecutive transfers of ownership through a chain of LLCs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment of ownership from the inventor to Paygeo LLC was executed on 2024-10-18 (Reel 066373/0972), which occurred within six months of the district court case (2:25-cv-00334) being filed in the Texas Eastern District Court in 2025 [cite: US12014347B2 patent text].
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no information in the provided patent text or assignment records to suggest a bankruptcy event.
7. Privateering — Not present. The initial transfer was from the individual inventor, and there are no indications of an operating company transferring the patent to Paygeo LLC to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain ends with Paygeo LLC, which is asserting the patent, and Piccadilly Patent Funding LLC holds a security interest, neither of which are defensive aggregators.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The high confidence in this verdict is driven by two strong signals: the transfer of the patent from the inventor to Paygeo LLC (Reel 066373/0972, executed 2024-10-18) occurred shortly before a district court litigation (case number 2:25-cv-00334) was filed in 2025 [cite: US12014347B2 patent text], indicating a pre-litigation transfer to an asserting entity. Furthermore, Unified Patents, an organization known for challenging patents asserted by NPEs, filed an IPR (IPR2025-01555) against this patent, strongly signaling that Paygeo LLC is operating as a patent asserter [cite: US12014347B2 patent text]. The subsequent patent security agreement with Piccadilly Patent Funding LLC (Reel 066606/0001), an entity whose name suggests a focus on patent monetization, further supports this conclusion.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search results for US12014347 at https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ (search by patent number 12014347).