Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor is Bennet Langlotz. He assigned his interest in the invention to Bulletproof Property Management LLC prior to the patent application's filing. His employer at the time of filing is not explicitly stated in the patent document, but the assignment suggests he was likely associated with Bulletproof Property Management LLC, or it was an early assignment to the entity that would pursue the patent.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Bulletproof Property Management LLC. Based on available public information, Bulletproof Property Management LLC does not appear to ship products embodying the claims of US12240456, which pertains to vehicle gear selection control. Their primary line of business, as evidenced by the ongoing litigation against Tesla, Inc. regarding this patent and others in the same family, appears to be patent assertion and licensing. The company is currently active as a plaintiff in patent infringement litigation.

Assignment timeline

Only one assignment is recorded for US12240456:

• 2024-01-03 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-27 — Reel 069032/0826
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: LANGLOTZ, BENNET
  • Assignee: BULLETPROOF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, LLC
  • Correspondent: Not readily available in USPTO Assignment Center summary.
  • Context: Inventor assigned patent rights to the entity that would become the original assignee and patent applicant.

The USPTO Assignment Center search for patent 12240456 at https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html shows only one record.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12240456
    2023 : Priority date
    2024 : Inventor assigned to Bulletproof PM LLC
         : Application filed by Bulletproof PM LLC
    2025 : Patent issued to Bulletproof PM LLC
         : Litigation 1:25-cv-00665 filed
    2026 : IPR2026-00228 filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Not present. There is no recorded transfer from an operating assignee to a licensing-only LLC. However, the original assignee, Bulletproof Property Management LLC, exhibits characteristics of a shell entity (generic name, no apparent product, solely engaged in patent litigation in this technical area).
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Bulletproof Property Management LLC is currently asserting this patent against Tesla, Inc. in district court case 1:25-cv-00665. This identifies them as a patent asserter.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. With only one recorded assignment from the inventor to the original assignee (Reel 069032/0826), there is insufficient data to determine if a repeat correspondent pattern exists.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. Only one assignment from the inventor to the current assignee is recorded.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The assignment from the inventor to Bulletproof Property Management LLC (recorded 2024-10-27) occurred well before the district court litigation was filed on May 5, 2025. This was a typical pre-filing assignment of invention rights.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No information suggests the assignment resulted from a bankruptcy proceeding.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While the patent is being asserted against an operating company (Tesla, Inc.), there is no public information to indicate that another operating company transferred the patent to Bulletproof Property Management LLC to assert on their behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently being asserted in litigation, not held by a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on two strong signals: the current assignee, Bulletproof Property Management LLC, is identified as a known asserter actively engaged in patent litigation against an operating company (Tesla, Inc.). Furthermore, Bulletproof Property Management LLC appears to be a shell entity itself, given its generic name ("Property Management LLC") and the lack of any evidence indicating it manufactures or sells products embodying the claimed vehicle technology. This entity seemingly exists primarily for patent assertion.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search for US12240456: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html