Assignment history

Inventors

• Herbert M. Cullis (Employer: Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc.)
• Anthony L. Almond (Employer: Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc.)
• Michael B. Uffer (Employer: Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc.)
• Mirza A. Kohja (Employer: Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc.)
• Rodolfo R. Rodgriguez (Employer: Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc.)

No unusual patterns, such as inventors departing the original assignee shortly after filing, were observed. All inventors are presumed to have been employed by Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc. at the time of filing.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc. This company was a prominent manufacturer of medical products, including blood processing systems, and it shipped products embodying the claims. The company later underwent a corporate name change, becoming Baxter International Inc., which is currently a major operating company in the healthcare industry, active in the fields of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.

Assignment timeline

• 1982-12-31 (executed) / recorded 1986-07-28 — Reel 004050/0675
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BAXTER TRAVENOL LABORATORIES INC.
  • Assignee: BAXTER INTERNATIONAL INC.
  • Correspondent: MCDOUGALL, HERSH & GOODMAN, 135 S. LASALLE STREET, CHICAGO IL 60603
  • Context: Internal reorganization/corporate name change.

The USPTO Patent Assignment Search returned only one assignment record for US4151844, indicating that the ownership chain has been straightforward since its issuance.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 4151844
    1977 : Filed by Baxter Travenol
    1979 : Issued
    1982 : Assigned to Baxter Intl Inc

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Not present. The assignment was from "BAXTER TRAVENOL LABORATORIES INC." to "BAXTER INTERNATIONAL INC.", both of which are recognized operating companies in the healthcare sector, indicating a corporate restructuring or name change rather than a transfer to a non-practicing entity. [cite: 004050/0675]
2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. Neither Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc. nor Baxter International Inc. are identified as known NPEs or patent asserters on public lists.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. There is only one assignment record for this patent, filed by MCDOUGALL, HERSH & GOODMAN. Therefore, it is not possible to observe a pattern of repeat correspondents within this specific chain.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. Only a single assignment is recorded for this patent, which does not constitute multiple consecutive transfers within a short period. [cite: 004050/0675]
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. While the assignment was executed in 1982 and recorded in 1986 [cite: 004050/0675], there is insufficient data from the provided sources (patent text, Google Patents legal events, USPTO PEDS/ODP) to determine if this transfer occurred within six months of any first infringement suit involving this patent. Given the dates, it's unlikely to be a pre-litigation transfer as typically associated with NPEs acquiring patents for immediate assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The transfer appears to be part of a standard corporate name change or reorganization rather than a sale stemming from bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — Not present. The assignment is between related operating entities, not to an NPE acting on an operating company's behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The current assignee, Baxter International Inc., is an operating company, not a defensive aggregator like RPX or Allied Security Trust.

Verdict

Insufficient data.
The single recorded assignment (Reel 004050/0675, recorded 1986-07-28) shows a transfer from Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc. to Baxter International Inc., which is consistent with a corporate name change or internal reorganization of the original operating company. There are no clear signals indicating a transfer to a Non-Practicing Entity based on the available assignment records.

USPTO Assignment Center Search for US4151844