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.

Assignment history

Inventors

Thomas A. Howell
David Chao
C. Douglass Thomas
Peter P. Tong

No employer information is provided at the time of filing within the patent document.

Original assignee

Ingeniospec LLC. It is unclear if Ingeniospec LLC shipped a product embodying the claims. Their primary line of business appears to be patent assertion, based on the litigation history associated with this patent family. Their current status is operating.

Assignment timeline

No assignment records were found for US12044901B2 on the USPTO Patent Assignment Search database. This indicates that Ingeniospec LLC, the original assignee, likely still holds ownership of the patent.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US12044901
    2005 : Priority date
    2023 : Application filed by Ingeniospec LLC
    2024 : Granted to Ingeniospec LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

Shell-entity transfer — unclear. While Ingeniospec LLC's name might suggest a licensing-focused entity, without recorded transfers, there's no direct evidence of a transfer from an operating company to a shell entity.
Known asserter in the chain — unclear. Ingeniospec LLC is listed in litigation databases as a plaintiff in patent infringement cases. However, without assignment records, it's unclear if they are a "known asserter" within the context of having acquired the patent from another entity specifically for assertion.
Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. No assignment records are found.
Cascading transfers — not present. No assignment records are found.
Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The patent family has litigation history, but without assignment records, it's impossible to determine if any transfer occurred within 6 months of the first suit.
Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no information to suggest the original assignee filed for bankruptcy.
Privateering — unclear. Without assignment records or SEC filings from a public operating company, there's no evidence to indicate privateering.
Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent's litigation history suggests assertion, not defensive aggregation.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence. While there are no recorded assignments to explicitly show a transfer to a shell entity, the current assignee, Ingeniospec LLC, is actively involved in patent litigation concerning this patent family. This pattern of assertion, combined with the lack of clear product offerings, suggests an NPE strategy, even in the absence of a discernible transfer chain.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US12044901B2: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/