Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor is Nicholas Kingsley Mason. Publicly available professional profiles suggest that Nicholas Mason is the founder and CEO of Turtl, which corresponds to the assignee, Turtl Surf and Immerse Ltd. It is therefore highly likely he was employed by the assignee at the time of filing. There are no unusual patterns, as the inventor assigning the patent to their own operating company is standard practice.

Original assignee

The original and current assignee of record is Turtl Surf and Immerse Ltd.

Turtl Surf and Immerse Ltd, operating as "Turtl," is a UK-based software company that provides a content automation platform. Their product allows businesses to create, publish, and analyze interactive digital documents, which directly relates to and appears to embody the claims of US Patent 12,118,290. The company is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

A search of the USPTO Patent Assignment database for US patent 12,118,290 reveals two recorded assignments, both related to the initial transfer of title from the inventor to the company.

• 2023-07-25 (executed) / recorded 2023-07-25 — Reel 064371/0124

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: MASON, NICHOLAS KINGSLEY
  • Assignee: TURTL SURF & IMMERSE LIMITED
  • Correspondent: BROWDY AND NEIMARK, P.L.L.C.; 1625 K STREET, N.W., SUITE 1100; WASHINGTON, DC 20006
  • Context: Standard assignment from the sole inventor to their company to establish ownership.

• 2024-09-12 (executed) / recorded 2024-09-16 — Reel 069273/0569

  • Conveyance: Correction
  • Assignor: MASON, NICHOLAS KINGSLEY
  • Assignee: TURTL SURF & IMMERSE LIMITED
  • Correspondent: BROWDY AND NEIMARK, P.L.L.C.; 1625 K ST NW STE 1100; WASHINGTON, DC 20006. This is the same correspondent as the prior recording.
  • Context: A corrective assignment to amend the initial inventor assignment, with no change in ownership.

As of today's date, there are no further recorded assignments. The patent remains with the original assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12118290
    2020 : Priority date
    2023 : Application filed
         : Assigned to Turtl Surf & Immerse Ltd
    2024 : Issued
         : Corrective assignment recorded

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Not present. The assignee, Turtl Surf and Immerse Ltd, is a known operating company with a commercial product that embodies the patent's claims.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. The only assignee, Turtl Surf and Immerse Ltd, is not a known NPE.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. While the same correspondent (BROWDY AND NEIMARK, P.L.L.C.) appears on both recordings (Reels 064371/0124 and 069273/0569), this is expected as they are handling the prosecution and title record for a single client. This does not indicate a pattern of transfers between shell entities.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There have been no subsequent transfers of ownership.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The only transfers were from the inventor to his company prior to issuance. The Google Patents legal events list a PTAB proceeding (IPR2025-01525), but the assignments on record are not transfers to a third-party asserting entity in preparation for litigation.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication that the assignee has undergone bankruptcy proceedings.

7. Privateering — Not present. The patent is still held by the operating company.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent has not been transferred to a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

• Insufficient data

The assignment record shows only the initial, standard transfer from the inventor to the operating company he founded. There have been no post-issuance assignments to any other entity. Because the patent remains with the original operating company and has not been transferred, there is no data to suggest any NPE-related activity.

Verify at: USPTO Patent Assignment Search for Pat. No. 12118290