Assignment history

Inventors

Bennet Langlotz: No employer at the time of filing is explicitly stated within the patent document. The patent was assigned to Bulletproof Property Management LLC, suggesting Mr. Langlotz was likely the founder or an employee/contractor of this entity.

Original assignee

Bulletproof Property Management LLC is the original assignee named on the issued patent.

Primary line of business: According to its Better Business Bureau profile, Bulletproof Property Management is listed under "Property Management" and has been in business for 7 years as of October 2025. It is based in Clovis, CA. Another entity, "Bullet Property Management" in Columbus, IN, also offers property management services. There's also "BulletProof Real Estate Agent, LLC" which provides SaaS solutions for real estate agents, including SEO services and website development. Given the variations in names and locations, it's most likely that the specific "Bulletproof Property Management LLC" associated with this patent is the one identified as a property management business.

Products: There is no indication from the search results that Bulletproof Property Management LLC ships products embodying the claims of US12233871, which relates to vehicle gear selection control. The listed products and services for entities with similar names consistently relate to real estate, property management, or real estate agent services, not automotive technology.

Current status: Bulletproof Property Management LLC appears to be operating, as evidenced by its BBB profile and its active participation as a plaintiff in litigation related to this patent.

Assignment timeline

• 2024-01-03 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-27 — Reel 069032/0849
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: LANGLOTZ, BENNET
  • Assignee: BULLETPROOF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, LLC
  • Correspondent: B. LANGLOTZ, 1795 ALTA MIRA PLACE, SAN DIEGO, CA 92103. This correspondent appears to be the inventor himself.
  • Context: Initial assignment from inventor to the founding entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12233871
    2024 : Filed by Bulletproof Property Management LLC
         : Inventor assigned to Bulletproof Prop Mgmt LLC
    2025 : Issued
         : Litigation filed against Tesla
    2026 : IPR filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The assignee, Bulletproof Property Management LLC, is identified as a property management business, which is entirely unrelated to the automotive technology described in the patent. There is no evidence of the company producing products embodying the claims. The patent is actively being asserted in litigation against Tesla, Inc. This disparity strongly suggests it is a licensing-only or assertion entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. Bulletproof Property Management LLC is not explicitly listed on common public NPE lists. However, Unified Patents has filed an Inter Partes Review (IPR2026-00222, and IPR2026-00204 against a related patent US12221104B1) against this patent family, which often indicates an assertion by an NPE that Unified Patents is challenging.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present (within this chain). The only recorded assignment lists B. Langlotz as the correspondent. Without access to a broader database of this site's tracked patents or specific NPE correspondent lists, it is not possible to determine if this correspondent recurs elsewhere.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There is only one assignment recorded from the inventor to the initial assignee.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The assignment from the inventor to Bulletproof Property Management LLC was executed on 2024-01-03 and recorded on 2024-10-27. The initial litigation against Tesla, Inc. (case 1:25-cv-00665) was filed on May 5, 2025. The assignment occurred more than six months prior to the litigation filing.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence suggests the assignor or assignee was involved in bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — Not present. There is no indication that an operating company transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf. Bulletproof Property Management LLC appears to be the initial assignee from the inventor.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The current assignee, Bulletproof Property Management LLC, is asserting the patent, not neutralizing it.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The verdict is high confidence NPE because Bulletproof Property Management LLC, primarily a property management business, holds a patent in unrelated automotive technology and is actively asserting it in infringement litigation against Tesla, Inc.. The lack of any product embodying the claims from the assignee, coupled with the active litigation, strongly indicates that this entity functions as a patent assertion entity.

Verification via USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/