Assignment history

Inventors

• John A. Nix (Likely self-employed or independent inventor, given subsequent assignment patterns and involvement with patent monetization entities).

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent US12207094B2 is Network 1 Technologies Inc. [cite: The full patent text indicates "Original Assignee: Network 1 Technologies Inc"]. Network-1 Technologies, Inc. is focused on the development, licensing, and protection of intellectual property assets, working with individual inventors and corporate/academic patent owners to develop and monetize their IP. They aim to generate licensing revenues from their patent portfolios, such as their Remote Power Patent and Content Monetization Portfolio. Network-1 Technologies, Inc. is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2024-02-13 (executed) / recorded 2024-02-13 — Reel 056463/0187

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: NIX, JOHN
  • Assignee: M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
  • Correspondent: BRENT E. ROUSE, 3179 PEACHTREE RD NE, SUITE 245, ATLANTA, GA 30305
  • Context: Transfer from individual inventor to an LLC.

• 2024-02-21 (executed) / recorded 2024-02-21 — Reel 056488/0951

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: VOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
  • Assignee: NIX, JOHN A.
  • Correspondent: BRENT E. ROUSE, 3179 PEACHTREE RD NE, SUITE 245, ATLANTA, GA 30305. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer from Vobal Technologies, LLC back to the individual inventor.

• 2024-03-08 (executed) / recorded 2024-03-08 — Reel 056550/0616

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
  • Assignee: NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Correspondent: BRENT E. ROUSE, 3179 PEACHTREE RD NE, SUITE 245, ATLANTA, GA 30305. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer from M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC to Network-1 Technologies, Inc.

• 2025-09-10 (executed) / recorded 2025-09-10 — Reel 057912/0339

  • Conveyance: Change of Address
  • Assignor: NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Assignee: NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Correspondent: Network-1 Technologies, Inc., 1114 Avenue of the Americas, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10036
  • Context: Internal administrative change of address for the assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12207094
    2024 : Inventor to M2M & IoT Technologies
         : Vobal Tech to Inventor
         : M2M & IoT to Network-1
    2025 : Issued
         : Network-1 Change of Address

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC (assignee in reel 056463/0187) is described as developing cybersecurity software for secure network devices and M2M/IoT technologies, and has a focus on patent pending technology. While they develop software, their business model as described by PitchBook and their own website strongly emphasizes patented and patent pending technology and intellectual property, rather than shipping physical products in commerce. The fact that John Nix, an inventor with a history of monetizing patent portfolios, founded M2M and IoT Technologies further supports its role as an IP-focused entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear. While Network-1 Technologies, Inc. (the current assignee) is a known patent licensing entity, neither M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC nor VOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC appear on the readily available Unified Patents or RPX NPE lists.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Brent E. Rouse of 3179 PEACHTREE RD NE, SUITE 245, ATLANTA, GA 30305 appears as the correspondent for multiple assignments: NIX, JOHN to M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC (reel 056463/0187) and M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC to NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (reel 056550/0616).

4. Cascading transfers — present. There are three assignments occurring in quick succession within a two-month period in 2024: 2024-02-13 (NIX, JOHN to M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC), 2024-02-21 (VOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC to NIX, JOHN A.), and 2024-03-08 (M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC to NETWORK-1 TECHNOLOGIES, INC.). These transfers involve the individual inventor and two LLCs, sharing the same correspondent. (Reels 056463/0187, 056488/0951, 056550/0616).

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. There is currently a PTAB case IPR2026-00118 filed (Pending) and a US case filed in Texas Eastern District Court (2:25-cv-00667) [cite: The full patent text indicates "Family has litigation"]. The assignments in early 2024 precede the earliest identified litigation (a district court case filed in 2025) by more than six months, so it does not strictly meet the pre-litigation transfer criteria of within 6 months.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. No indication of bankruptcy for any entity in the chain.

7. Privateering — unclear. While the chain involves transfers to an IP-focused entity and then to a known patent licensor, there's no public information explicitly stating that Network-1 Technologies, Inc. is asserting this patent on behalf of another operating company.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain ends with Network-1 Technologies, Inc., which is a patent monetizer, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is supported by the presence of multiple strong signals. The patent was transferred from the individual inventor to M2M AND IOT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, which appears to be a shell entity focused on patenting and monetization rather than product sales [cite: 4, 11, reel 056463/0187]. Subsequently, it was acquired by Network-1 Technologies, Inc., a publicly known patent licensing company [cite: 8, 14, reel 056550/0616]. The rapid cascading transfers between the inventor and the two LLCs within a two-month period, handled by the same correspondent, further strengthen the confidence in this assessment [cite: reel 056463/0187, 056488/0951, 056550/0616].

USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html