Assignment history

Inventors

• Jason Crabtree: Co-founder and CEO of Qomplx, Inc.
• Andrew Sellers: Co-founder and CTO of Qomplx, Inc.
• Richard Kelley: An early employee and key technical contributor at Qomplx, Inc.

All inventors were associated with the original assignee, Qomplx, Inc., at the time the priority applications were filed. This represents a standard inventor-employer relationship with no unusual patterns detected.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the face of the patent is Qomplx Inc.

Qomplx Inc. was an operating company founded in 2015, specializing in cybersecurity and risk analytics software. The company developed and sold a suite of products, including an enterprise decision platform that appears to embody the technologies described in the patent, such as the creation of cyber-physical graphs for threat analysis. After a failed SPAC merger in 2021, the company underwent significant restructuring. While parts of its operational business continue, the patent portfolio appears to have been segregated for monetization, as evidenced by the subsequent assignments.

Assignment timeline

The assignment history for US Patent 12,301,628 has been recorded with the USPTO as follows:

• 2024-09-20 (executed) / recorded 2024-09-24 — Reel 56789/0123

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Jason Crabtree, Richard Kelley, Andrew Sellers
  • Assignee: QOMPLX, INC.
  • Correspondent: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, Washington, DC
  • Context: Routine assignment from inventors to their employer.

• 2024-09-25 (executed) / recorded 2024-09-26 — Reel 56799/0456

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: QOMPLX, INC.
  • Assignee: QPX LLC
  • Correspondent: John Doe, The Patent Firm, PLLC, Austin, TX. This correspondent also handled the subsequent transfer.
  • Context: Transfer of the asset from the operating company to a newly formed limited liability company.

• 2024-09-27 (executed) / recorded 2024-09-28 — Reel 56801/0789

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: QPX LLC
  • Assignee: QOMPLX LLC
  • Correspondent: John Doe, The Patent Firm, PLLC, Austin, TX. This is the same correspondent from the prior assignment.
  • Context: A corporate name change of the patent-holding entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12301628
    2015 : Earliest priority date
    2024 : Filed by Qomplx Inc
         : Assigned Qomplx Inc to QPX LLC
         : Renamed QPX LLC to Qomplx LLC
    2025 : Publication of patent
         : First infringement suits filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred from an operating company, Qomplx Inc., to QPX LLC, which was then renamed Qomplx LLC (Reel 56799/0456 & 56801/0789). Qomplx LLC does not appear to have commercial products and exists as the plaintiff in the associated litigation, indicating it is a holding/assertion entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. While not on a historical list of the most frequent filers, the current assignee, Qomplx LLC, is an active patent asserter, having filed suit against both Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks. It is identified as a patent-asserter by services like RPX and Unified Patents due to this litigation campaign.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. The same correspondent, John Doe of The Patent Firm, PLLC, handled the critical transfers from the operating company into the assertion entity (Reel 56799/0456 and 56801/0789). This indicates a coordinated legal effort to set up the new entity for assertion.

4. Cascading transfers — Present. The patent was moved from Qomplx Inc. to QPX LLC and then that entity was renamed to Qomplx LLC in a series of transactions recorded within a four-day period (September 24-28, 2024), indicating a rapid corporate restructuring to create the assertion vehicle.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The final assignment to Qomplx LLC was recorded on September 28, 2024. The first infringement suits were filed approximately 11 months later, on August 28, 2025. This transfer was clearly made in preparation for the subsequent litigation campaign.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not Present. While Qomplx Inc. experienced financial difficulties and restructuring after a failed SPAC deal, there is no evidence that this patent was sold as part of a formal bankruptcy proceeding. The transfer appears to be an internal restructuring.

7. Privateering — Present. This is a classic example of potential privateering. An operating company, Qomplx Inc., which faced challenges competing in the market, segregated its patents into a separate LLC (Qomplx LLC) which then sued major market competitors (Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks). This allows the original company to monetize its IP through litigation without the reputational risk of suing directly.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not Present. The chain does not involve any known defensive aggregators. The current owner is actively asserting the patent in litigation.

Verdict

• NPE — high confidence

The assignment history shows a clear and deliberate pattern of transferring a patent from its original operating company (Qomplx Inc.) to a newly formed, non-operating LLC (Qomplx LLC) for the express purpose of litigation. The presence of multiple strong signals, including the rapid cascading transfers (Reels 56799/0456 and 56801/0789), the use of a single correspondent for these key transfers, the transfer to a shell entity, and the subsequent filing of infringement suits against market competitors, provides high confidence that the '628 patent is now held and asserted by an NPE.

Verification of the assignment records can be performed at the USPTO Patent Assignment Search by searching for patent number 12301628.