Assignment history

Inventors

Frederick S. M. Herz is the sole named inventor of US patent 6029195. At the time of filing (December 5, 1997), the application was filed by "Individual," suggesting Frederick S. M. Herz was either self-employed or had not yet formally assigned the patent to a corporate entity.

Original assignee

The application for US patent 6029195 was filed by an "Individual" (Frederick S. M. Herz). The first corporate entity to appear in the assignment chain, whose name ultimately persisted through a change of name, is HERZ TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED.

It is unclear if HERZ TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED shipped a product specifically embodying the claims of US 6029195. Its successor by name change, Pinpoint Incorporated, is an operating company that primarily manufactures and sells wearable staff duress systems for healthcare facilities and also offers an Applicant Tracking System. The core claims of US 6029195 relate to customized electronic identification of desirable objects using profiles (e.g., news articles, movies, purchasable items), which does not directly align with the primary product lines identified for Pinpoint Incorporated.

As of July 4, 2026, Pinpoint Incorporated appears to be an active, operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2000-11-14 (executed) / recorded 2000-11-14 — Reel 011409/0179

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: IREACTOR, INC.
  • Assignee: HERZ TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED
  • Correspondent: BROWDY AND NEIMARK, P.L.L.C., 624 9TH ST., N.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20001. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Corporate transfer of patent rights. This record suggests IREACTOR, INC. held rights prior to this date, which were then transferred to Herz Technologies Incorporated.

• 2000-12-11 (executed) / recorded 2000-12-11 — Reel 011504/0002

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: FREDERICK HERZ
  • Assignee: IREACTOR, INC.
  • Correspondent: BROWDY AND NEIMARK, P.L.L.C., 624 9TH ST., N.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20001. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from the individual inventor, Frederick Herz, to IREACTOR, INC. The recording date of this assignment is subsequent to the IREACTOR, INC. to HERZ TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED transfer, suggesting a formalization or clarification of an earlier beneficial interest or a re-acquisition by IREACTOR, INC. before the patent's ultimate ownership by Herz Technologies Incorporated (and its successor).

• 2003-02-13 (executed) / recorded 2003-02-13 — Reel 009292/0971

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: HERZ TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED
  • Assignee: PINPOINT INCORPORATED
  • Correspondent: BROWDY AND NEIMARK, P.L.L.C., 624 9TH ST., N.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20001. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Corporate name change; Herz Technologies Incorporated officially changed its name to Pinpoint Incorporated.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 6029195
    1997 : Filed by F Herz
    2000 : Patent Issued
         : IREACTOR to Herz Tech
         : F Herz to IREACTOR
    2003 : Herz Tech became Pinpoint

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Unclear. While IREACTOR, INC. appears as an early assignee and assignor, and product searches for "IREACTOR Inc" yielded unrelated industrial reactors, it is not definitively established as a shell entity for patent assertion in this context. The chain ultimately leads to Pinpoint Incorporated, which is an operating company.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. None of the named assignees (IREACTOR, INC., HERZ TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED, PINPOINT INCORPORATED) are listed among known NPEs or commonly cited high-frequency plaintiffs.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. The law firm BROWDY AND NEIMARK, P.L.L.C. is listed as the correspondent for all three recorded assignments on Reel 011409/0179, Reel 011504/0002, and Reel 009292/0971.
4. Cascading transfers — Unclear. There are two assignment records (excluding the name change) within approximately one month in 2000. While rapid, these transfers appear to be part of the inventor's initial corporate structuring and formalization of patent ownership rather than a series of transfers between distinct shell entities for assertion purposes.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. No litigation is currently known for US patent 6029195.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication that any of the assignors filed for bankruptcy leading to a patent sale. Pinpoint Inc. is currently an operating company.
7. Privateering — Not present. No evidence suggests an operating company transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is not currently assigned to a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Insufficient data
The assignment chain reflects initial corporate structuring around the inventor's entities, culminating in Pinpoint Incorporated, which is an operating company. While a repeat correspondent (Browdy and Neimark, P.L.L.C.) is noted for all transfers (Reel 011409/0179, Reel 011504/0002, Reel 009292/0971), there is no other clear evidence of shell-entity transfers, known NPE involvement, or pre-litigation activity to suggest an NPE pattern.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/