Assignment history

Inventors

• Ernesto Carlos Martinez Villalpando (Solos Technology Ltd. / Kopin Corporation)
• Chiu Ming So (Solos Technology Ltd. / Kopin Corporation)
• Kwok Wah Law (Solos Technology Ltd. / Kopin Corporation)
• Wai Kuen Cheung (Solos Technology Ltd. / Kopin Corporation)

The inventors were associated with both Solos Technology Ltd. and Kopin Corporation. Solos Technology Ltd. was spun off from Kopin Corporation, a publicly traded company, in 2019, with Kopin retaining a 20% equity stake in Solos Inc. and a royalty agreement. Dr. John C.C. Fan, a co-founder and Executive Chairman of Solos Technology Limited, also founded Kopin Corporation. Kenny Cheung, Co-Founder, President & Board Member of Solos, held senior roles at Kopin. Ernesto C. Martinez V., Ph.D., is also a Co-Founder & Board Member of Solos. This indicates a close relationship between the entities at the time of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent US12216339 is Solos Technology Ltd.

Solos Technology Ltd. (referred to as "Solos" in many contexts) develops smart glasses technology, including modular frames, lightweight optics, audio, and an on-device AI assistant for features like real-time translation. They also market smart eyewear under product lines like AirGo™, Krypton, and Xeon. Their primary line of business involves integrating wearable electronics with traditional eyewear for various functions, including digital health tracking, audio entertainment, and personal assistance.

The company's status is active and they recently filed a patent infringement lawsuit in January 2026 against Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica, targeting their "Meta RayBan" and "Oakley Meta" smart glasses products. Notably, there is another company called "Solo Technologies" that focuses on business/productivity software for the gig economy, but this is a distinct entity. It is important not to confuse Solos Technology Ltd., the smart glasses company, with Solo Technologies, the software company. Furthermore, another entity named "Solos" is a global leader in aroma recovery for dealcoholized beverages, which is also a distinct business.

Assignment timeline

• 2025-11-25 (executed) / recorded 2025-11-25 — Reel 043815/0500

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST
  • Assignor: VILLALPANDO, ERNESTO CARLOS MARTINEZ
  • Assignee: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL T. RIEHLE, KOPIN CORPORATION, 125 NORTH DRIVE, WESTBOROUGH, MA 01581
  • Context: Transfer from individual inventor to operating company

• 2025-11-25 (executed) / recorded 2025-11-25 — Reel 043815/0501

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST
  • Assignor: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Assignee: SOLOS TECHNOLOGY LIMITED
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL T. RIEHLE, KOPIN CORPORATION, 125 NORTH DRIVE, WESTBOROUGH, MA 01581. This correspondent also appears on the previous record in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer from operating company to related entity (Solos was spun off from Kopin)

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12216339
    2018 : Priority claimed
    2023 : Application filed
    2025 : Issued
    2025 : Assigned from inventor to Kopin Corp
         : Assigned from Kopin Corp to Solos Technology Ltd

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. Solos Technology Ltd. actively develops and sells smart glasses products. While "Solos Inc." is mentioned as a parent company in spin-off details and Kopin's equity stake, the primary assignee (Solos Technology Limited) is an operating company. The addresses provided for Kopin Corporation in the assignment records are corporate addresses, not registered-agent services.

2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Neither Solos Technology Ltd. nor Kopin Corporation appear on common NPE lists from Unified Patents or RPX.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Michael T. Riehle of Kopin Corporation appears as the correspondent for both assignments recorded on 2025-11-25 (Reel 043815/0500 and Reel 043815/0501). This indicates internal legal handling of the assignments by Kopin, likely related to the spin-off of Solos.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are two assignments recorded on the same day in 2025, but they represent a direct transfer from an inventor to Kopin and then from Kopin to Solos, which aligns with the reported spin-off of Solos from Kopin.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. While Solos Technology Limited filed a patent infringement lawsuit in January 2026, the assignments were recorded in November 2025, which is within six months of the litigation filing. However, this timing could also align with the natural course of perfecting ownership rights after the patent grant in February 2025.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Kopin Corporation is a publicly traded company that is actively operating. There is no indication of bankruptcy. Solos Technology Ltd. is also actively operating.

7. Privateering — unclear. While Solos Technology Ltd. was spun off from Kopin Corporation, and Kopin retained a 20% equity stake and royalty rights, this alone does not definitively confirm a privateering arrangement. Kopin's CEO stated the spin-off was to "monetize our intellectual property (IP) and reduce our cost structure," and that Kopin would benefit from "future royalties and appreciation of the equity." Solos is actively asserting the patent in litigation.

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

Operating-company assertion

Solos Technology Limited, the current assignee, develops and sells smart glasses products. The patent was assigned from an inventor to Kopin Corporation, and then from Kopin Corporation to Solos Technology Limited on the same day in November 2025 (Reel 043815/0500, Reel 043815/0501), aligning with the spin-off of Solos from Kopin, where Kopin retained an equity stake and royalty rights. Solos Technology Limited is actively asserting this patent against competitors (Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica) that also produce smart glasses.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/