Assignment history

Inventors

The inventors named on US patent 12143425 are Jason Crabtree and Andrew Sellers. At the time of filing (priority date October 28, 2015, and application filing date July 21, 2024), the application was filed by Qomplx Inc., suggesting they were employed by or had assigned their rights to Qomplx Inc. or a related entity. There is no information to suggest unusual patterns regarding their departure from the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The entity named as the current assignee on the issued patent US12143425 is Qomplx Inc., as indicated by the "Application filed by Qomplx Inc." event on July 21, 2024, and subsequent reassignment to QOMPLX LLC. Qomplx Inc. (and later QOMPLX LLC) appears to be an operating company in the field of cybersecurity and data analytics, which aligns with the patent's focus on "Rapid predictive analysis of very large data sets using the distributed computational graph." The subsequent reassignments suggest internal corporate restructuring or changes in legal entity names rather than a divestiture of assets to a separate licensing entity. QOMPLX LLC is the ultimate assignee in the described chain.

Assignment timeline

The provided patent information indicates the following assignment chain:

• 2024-07-21 (filed) / recorded 2024-07-21 — Reel N/A
  • Conveyance: Initial Assignment (implied by application filing)
  • Assignor: Jason Crabtree, Andrew Sellers (Inventors)
  • Assignee: Qomplx Inc.
  • Correspondent: Not available in provided patent text.
  • Context: Initial assignment from inventors to the company filing the patent application.
• 2024-08-06 (executed) / recorded 2024-08-06 — Reel N/A
  • Conveyance: Reassignment (ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST)
  • Assignor: Jason Crabtree, Andrew Sellers
  • Assignee: Fractal Industries, Inc.
  • Correspondent: Not available in provided patent text.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor's interest to an initial corporate entity.
• 2024-08-19 (executed) / recorded 2024-08-19 — Reel N/A
  • Conveyance: Reassignment (ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST)
  • Assignor: Fractal Industries, Inc.
  • Assignee: QOMPLX, INC.
  • Correspondent: Not available in provided patent text.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from an intermediate entity to QOMPLX, INC.
• 2024-08-20 (executed) / recorded 2024-08-20 — Reel N/A
  • Conveyance: Reassignment (ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST)
  • Assignor: QOMPLX, INC.
  • Assignee: QPX LLC
  • Correspondent: Not available in provided patent text.
  • Context: Transfer from one corporate entity to another, likely an internal restructuring or renaming.
• 2024-09-18 (executed) / recorded 2024-09-18 — Reel N/A
  • Conveyance: Reassignment (CHANGE OF NAME)
  • Assignor: QPX LLC
  • Assignee: QOMPLX LLC
  • Correspondent: Not available in provided patent text.
  • Context: Official change of name for the assignee entity.

The provided patent text does not contain specific reel/frame numbers or correspondent information for these recorded assignments.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12143425
    2024 : Filed by Qomplx Inc
         : Assigned to Fractal Industries
         : Assigned to QOMPLX INC
         : Assigned to QPX LLC
         : QPX LLC name changed to QOMPLX LLC
         : Patent granted

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Unclear. The entities like "Fractal Industries, Inc.", "QOMPLX, INC.", "QPX LLC", and "QOMPLX LLC" appear in quick succession. While "LLC" suffixes can indicate shell entities, the "CHANGE OF NAME" from QPX LLC to QOMPLX LLC suggests these might be related operating company entities undergoing internal restructuring or re-naming rather than transfers to dedicated licensing shells. Without information on their primary line of business, product shipment, or registered-agent addresses, it's difficult to confirm if they are shell entities.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. None of the assignees (Fractal Industries, Inc., QOMPLX, INC., QPX LLC, QOMPLX LLC) match publicly known NPEs or high-frequency plaintiffs based on the provided data.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. Correspondent information (attorney name, firm, address) is not provided in the patent text for any of the assignment records, so this signal cannot be assessed.
4. Cascading transfers — Present. There are multiple consecutive assignments within a very short period (August to September 2024). Specifically, from August 6, 2024 (inventors to Fractal) to August 19, 2024 (Fractal to QOMPLX, INC.), to August 20, 2024 (QOMPLX, INC. to QPX LLC), and then a name change on September 18, 2024 (QPX LLC to QOMPLX LLC). This rapid sequence of transfers, particularly before the patent was granted on November 12, 2024, could indicate internal restructuring or preparation for assertion.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. The Google Patents record indicates litigation filed in the Texas Western District Court (1:25-cv-01383) and Texas Eastern District Court (2:25-cv-00913), both with case numbers suggesting a 2025 filing year. The assignments occurred in August-September 2024. This timing (assignments in late 2024, litigation in 2025) could potentially align with a pre-litigation transfer depending on the exact filing dates of the lawsuits, but the precise dates of litigation filing are not provided in the extract to confirm if they fall within 6 months after the last assignment.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication in the patent text that the original assignee or any subsequent assignor filed for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — Not present. There is no information in the patent text or the provided context that suggests an operating company transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf against competitors.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not terminate at any known defensive aggregators like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence

The presence of cascading transfers in quick succession (August-September 2024) before patent issuance, combined with the lack of detailed information regarding the business activities of Fractal Industries, Inc., QPX LLC, and the specific nature of the litigation filings, raises moderate confidence of an NPE assertion pattern. While Qomplx Inc. and QOMPLX LLC appear to be operating companies, the rapid internal transfers involving different corporate names warrant closer scrutiny. The absence of correspondent information and detailed litigation dates prevents a higher confidence assessment.

USPTO Assignment Center Search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/