Assignment history

Inventors

• Michael F. Jones: The sole inventor listed on the patent. The initial assignment on record (Reel 006450/0813), executed on 1992-06-25, shows Jones assigning his interest to Telequip Corporation, indicating he was likely employed by or had a contractual obligation to the company at the time of the invention. There are no unusual patterns discernible from the public record regarding his subsequent employment.

Original assignee

The original assignee of record was Telequip Corp, based in Hollis, New Hampshire. Telequip was an operating company that developed and sold data communications hardware, including modems, which directly aligns with the subject matter of the patent. The company appears to have ceased operations, as its entire interest in the patent was assigned away in 2008 (Reel 021881/0612).

Assignment timeline

Assignment records for US patent 5,412,730 are available from the USPTO Patent Assignment Search database.

• 1992-06-25 (executed) / recorded 1992-06-26 — Reel 006450/0813

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Michael F. Jones
  • Assignee: Telequip Corporation
  • Correspondent: McHugh & Assoc., 175 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110
  • Context: Standard pre-issuance assignment from an inventor to their employer.

• 2008-10-06 (executed) / recorded 2008-12-15 — Reel 021881/0612

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Telequip Corporation
  • Assignee: Safe Sales Tech, LLC
  • Correspondent: The Pacid Group, LLC, 5001 Spring Valley Road, Suite 400 East, Dallas, TX 75244
  • Context: The patent is transferred from its original operating company owner to a Texas LLC, marking the beginning of its life as an asserted asset.

• 2008-11-03 (executed) / recorded 2008-12-15 — Reel 021881/0615

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: Safe Sales Tech, LLC
  • Assignee: The Pacid Group, LLC
  • Correspondent: The Pacid Group, LLC, 5001 Spring Valley Road, Suite 400 East, Dallas, TX 75244. This is the same correspondent as the preceding and following entries, linking the entities.
  • Context: A simple change of name for the new patent-holding entity, executed less than a month after the acquisition.

• 2008-11-03 (executed) / recorded 2008-12-15 — Reel 021881/0618

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: The Pacid Group, LLC
  • Assignee: TQP Development, LLC
  • Correspondent: The Pacid Group, LLC, 5001 Spring Valley Road, Suite 400 East, Dallas, TX 75244. The recurring correspondent confirms this is a chain of related entities.
  • Context: Another change of name, executed on the same day as the previous one, establishing the final identity of the assertion entity that would later file hundreds of lawsuits.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 5412730
    1992 : Assigned by inventor to Telequip Corp
    1995 : Patent issued
    2008 : Assigned to Safe Sales Tech LLC
         : Name changed to The Pacid Group LLC
         : Name changed to TQP Development LLC
    2012 : First major wave of litigation filed by TQP
    2013 : CBM review filed and settled

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The assignment from Telequip Corporation, an operating company, to Safe Sales Tech, LLC on 2008-10-06 (Reel 021881/0612) is a clear transfer to a non-practicing entity designed for licensing or assertion.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. The current assignee, TQP Development, LLC (Reel 021881/0618), is a widely recognized high-volume patent assertion entity, as confirmed by the extensive litigation history provided and by public records from RPX and Unified Patents.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. The three consecutive transfers recorded on 2008-12-15 all list "The Pacid Group, LLC" at a single Dallas, TX address as the correspondent (Reel 021881, frames 0612, 0615, and 0618). This recurrence of the same correspondent handling the rapid-fire transfers between differently named LLCs is a strong signal that the entities are controlled by a single operator.

4. Cascading transfers — Present. The assignment to Safe Sales Tech (executed 2008-10-06) was followed by two name changes (both executed 2008-11-03), with all three transactions recorded on the same day (2008-12-15). This rapid series of transactions over less than 30 days (Reel 021881) is a classic maneuver to structure a patent assertion vehicle.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The transfers that moved the patent into TQP Development, LLC's hands were completed in 2008. The first major wave of litigation identified began in 2012, more than six months later. While the transfer was clearly made to enable future assertion, it does not fit the narrow definition of an immediate pre-litigation transfer.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Unclear. There is no explicit evidence in the assignment record that the 2008 transfer from Telequip Corp was part of a formal bankruptcy proceeding. It was a standard "Assignment of Assignors Interest," which could have been part of a quiet wind-down or asset sale.

7. Privateering — Not present. There is no public evidence to suggest that the original assignee, Telequip Corp, is directing or profiting from TQP's assertion campaign against Telequip's former competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The ownership chain terminates with a prolific patent assertion entity, not a defensive one.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The ownership history of US patent 5,412,730 presents a clear and unambiguous pattern of transfer for the purpose of assertion by a non-practicing entity (NPE). The evidence includes a transfer from the original product company to a series of LLCs (Reel 021881/0612), a rapid cascade of name changes between related entities evidenced by a recurring correspondent (Reel 021881/0615, 021881/0618), and the patent's ultimate ownership by TQP Development, LLC, a known high-volume plaintiff.

Verification of the assignment records can be performed at the USPTO Patent Assignment Search page by searching for patent number 5412730.