Assignment history

Inventors

• Emil P. Kartalov: Affiliated with the California Institute of Technology at the time of filing.
• Aditya Rajagopal: Affiliated with the California Institute of Technology at the time of filing.
• Axel Scherer: Affiliated with the California Institute of Technology at the time of filing.

There are no unusual patterns. The inventors assigned their invention to their employer, a common and standard practice for university-led research.

Original assignee

The original assignee is the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Caltech is a private research university in Pasadena, California. As a university, it does not manufacture or ship commercial products embodying the patent claims. Its primary activities are education and scientific research. Caltech has an active Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships that manages its intellectual property portfolio, including licensing patents to commercial entities and, when necessary, litigating to enforce its patent rights. Caltech is an active and highly regarded operating institution.

Assignment timeline

A search of the USPTO Patent Assignment Search database for US patent 12168797 and its application number (18/352,112) reveals a single recorded assignment.

• 2023-06-21 (executed) / recorded 2023-07-13 — Reel 065545/0359
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Emil P. Kartalov; Aditya Rajagopal; Axel Scherer
  • Assignee: California Institute of Technology
  • Correspondent: NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT US LLP, 98 San Jacinto Blvd, Suite 1100, Austin, TX 78701
  • Context: Standard initial assignment of invention from the inventors to their employer, recorded on the same day the application was filed.

There are no other assignments recorded for this patent. The California Institute of Technology has remained the owner since it was filed.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12168797
    2023 : Filed by inventors
         : Assigned to California Institute of Technology
    2024 : Issued to California Institute of Technology
    2025 : Litigation filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Not present. The patent has not been transferred from the original assignee. The current owner is the California Institute of Technology, a major research university.

2. Known asserter in the chain: Not present. The sole assignee, Caltech, is not typically categorized as a non-practicing entity (NPE) or "patent troll," although it does engage in patent licensing and enforcement.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Not present. There is only one assignment on record.

4. Cascading transfers: Not present. The ownership has been static since the initial assignment from the inventors.

5. Pre-litigation transfer: Not present. The only assignment was executed prior to the patent's filing date in 2023. Litigation involving the patent began in 2025, with no intervening transfer of ownership.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present.

7. Privateering: Not present. The original assignee, Caltech, is enforcing the patent on its own behalf.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present.

Verdict

• Insufficient data

The ownership chain for US patent 12168797 is static and clean, showing only the initial assignment from the inventors to their university employer, the California Institute of Technology. There is no evidence of transfer to a shell company, known asserter, or any other entity for litigation purposes. While the patent is subject to litigation, this assertion is being conducted by the original assignee, which does not fit the pattern of an NPE transfer.

Verification link: USPTO Assignment Search for Pat. No. 12168797