Patent 12337716

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

✓ Generated

Analysis of US Patent 12,337,716

This report details the ownership history and litigation activity of US Patent 12,337,716, "Systems for transferring user profiles between vehicles using cloud services."

Inventors

  • Angel A. Penilla
  • Albert S. Penilla

Both inventors are principals of Emerging Automotive, LLC, the original assignee. Albert S. Penilla is also the founder of Penilla IP, APC, a boutique patent law firm in Silicon Valley. This indicates the patent was likely developed and prosecuted within a closely held, inventor-controlled entity.

Original Assignee

The patent was assigned at issuance to Emerging Automotive, LLC. This entity does not appear to manufacture or sell vehicles or cloud services. Its activities, as documented by litigation databases, are focused on patent assertion. RPX and Unified Patents, which track patent litigation, identify Emerging Automotive as an "inventor-controlled" entity that began filing infringement lawsuits in 2023. The company has sued major automotive manufacturers, including Toyota and Kia, over patents related to electronic keys and user profiles.

Assignment Timeline

A search of the USPTO Patent Assignment Search database for US Patent 12,337,716 reveals no recorded assignments since the patent was granted. The ownership of the patent has remained with the original assignee, Emerging Automotive LLC.

Timeline Diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12337716
    2022-07-25 : Application filed
    2023-09-21 : First infringement suits filed by Emerging Automotive
    2025-06-24 : Patent issued to Emerging Automotive LLC

NPE / Troll-Pattern Signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer: Not Present. There have been no transfers of this patent. The original assignee, however, exhibits characteristics of a non-practicing entity.

  2. Known asserter in the chain: Present. While not a "transfer" to a known asserter, the original assignee and current owner, Emerging Automotive LLC, is the asserting entity in multiple lawsuits. It has been identified as a patent asserter by both RPX and Unified Patents.

  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Not Present. There are no assignment records to analyze for this patent.

  4. Cascading transfers: Not Present.

  5. Pre-litigation transfer: Not Present. The litigation was filed by the original applicant and assignee.

  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not Present.

  7. Privateering: Not Present. There is no evidence that Emerging Automotive is asserting patents on behalf of another operating company.

  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not Present.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The original assignee, Emerging Automotive LLC, is an inventor-controlled entity that has engaged in patent litigation against multiple automotive companies, including Toyota and Kia. This pattern of an entity that does not produce products but instead files infringement lawsuits based on its patent portfolio is a strong indicator of non-practicing entity (NPE) behavior. The lawsuits involving this patent family, and the identification of Emerging Automotive as a patent asserter by industry trackers like RPX, confirm this classification.

A verifiable record of ownership can be found at the USPTO Assignment Center by searching for U.S. Patent No. 12,337,716.

Generated 5/13/2026, 12:19:43 AM