Assignment history

Inventors

Liuyang Yang. Employer at time of filing was Intel Corp. No unusual patterns are determinable from the provided data.

Original assignee

Intel Corp.
Intel Corp. is a multinational corporation and technology company primarily known for manufacturing semiconductor computer circuits. They ship a wide range of products embodying various claims, including microprocessors and other integrated circuits. Intel is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2007-12-31 (executed) / recorded 2008-01-08 — Reel 020613/0586
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Intel Corporation
  • Assignee: Wolford Associates, Limited Liability Company
  • Correspondent: R. Mark Halligan, NIFCO, 1000 SW Broadway, Suite 1500, Portland, OR 97205
  • Context: Fire-sale (transfer of patents from an operating company to an entity likely engaged in patent monetization).
• 2008-01-07 (executed) / recorded 2008-02-13 — Reel 020703/0064
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Wolford Associates, Limited Liability Company
  • Assignee: Heathway Holdings, LLC
  • Correspondent: David S. Winsted, Dykema Gossett PLLC, 1300 I Street, NW, Suite 300 West, Washington, DC 20005
  • Context: Transfer to asserter.
• 2015-11-19 (executed) / recorded 2015-12-09 — Reel 035974/0270
  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: Heathway Holdings LLC
  • Assignee: Mineral Lassen LLC
  • Correspondent: Joshua R. King, The Law Office of Joshua R. King, 1720 Windflower Way, McLean, VA 22102
  • Context: Internal reorg/merger of shell entities.
• 2019-01-22 (executed) / recorded 2019-01-30 — Reel 046424/0709
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Mineral Lassen LLC
  • Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Assets 99 LLC
  • Correspondent: Brian M. Berliner, Arent Fox LLP, 1717 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006-5342
  • Context: Transfer to asserter (Intellectual Ventures is a known NPE).
• 2019-03-11 (executed) / recorded 2019-03-15 — Reel 046777/0932
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Intellectual Ventures Assets 99 LLC
  • Assignee: Steephill Technologies LLC
  • Correspondent: Jason S. Okleshen, 2101 Cedar Springs Road, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75201. This correspondent recurs on other tracked patents.
  • Context: Transfer to asserter.
• 2019-05-13 (executed) / recorded 2019-05-20 — Reel 047120/0943
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Steephill Technologies LLC
  • Assignee: Cedar Lane Technologies Inc.
  • Correspondent: Jason S. Okleshen, 2101 Cedar Springs Road, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75201. This correspondent recurs on other tracked patents.
  • Context: Transfer to asserter.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 6700999
    2000 : Filed by Intel Corp
    2004 : Issued
    2007 : Assigned to Wolford Associates LLC
    2008 : Assigned to Heathway Holdings LLC
    2015 : Merged to Mineral Lassen LLC
    2019 : Assigned to Intellectual Ventures
         : Assigned to Steephill Technologies LLC
         : Assigned to Cedar Lane Tech Inc
    2022 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present.

   • Wolford Associates, Limited Liability Company (Reel 020613/0586, executed 2007-12-31): Transferred from operating company Intel. The name "Limited Liability Company" suggests a shell entity, and the correspondent for this transfer is a law firm specializing in IP.
   • Heathway Holdings, LLC (Reel 020703/0064, executed 2008-01-07): "LLC" in the name, transferred from another LLC.
   • Mineral Lassen LLC (Reel 035974/0270, executed 2015-11-19): "LLC" in the name, merged from another LLC.
   • Intellectual Ventures Assets 99 LLC (Reel 046424/0709, executed 2019-01-22): "LLC" in the name, a known NPE.
   • Steephill Technologies LLC (Reel 046777/0932, executed 2019-03-11): "LLC" in the name, transferred from a known NPE.
   • Cedar Lane Technologies Inc. (Reel 047120/0943, executed 2019-05-13): "Inc." suffix, transferred from an LLC in a chain of NPEs.

2. Known asserter in the chain — present.

   • Intellectual Ventures Assets 99 LLC (Reel 046424/0709, executed 2019-01-22): Intellectual Ventures is a well-known patent asserter.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present.

   • Jason S. Okleshen (Reel 046777/0932, executed 2019-03-11; Reel 047120/0943, executed 2019-05-13): Appears as correspondent for both Steephill Technologies LLC and Cedar Lane Technologies Inc., indicating a recurring legal representative within this chain.

4. Cascading transfers — present.

   • Reel 046424/0709 (2019-01-22), Reel 046777/0932 (2019-03-11), and Reel 047120/0943 (2019-05-13): Three assignments occurred within a span of less than four months in 2019, from Mineral Lassen LLC to Intellectual Ventures Assets 99 LLC, then to Steephill Technologies LLC, and finally to Cedar Lane Technologies Inc. This rapid succession of transfers among LLCs is a strong indicator of NPE activity.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The earliest litigation found on Google Patents for US6700999 is filed in 2019 (specifically, a case filed in California Central District Court, 2:19-cv-08630, 2019-09-17). The assignment to Cedar Lane Technologies Inc. was executed on 2019-05-13 and recorded on 2019-05-20 (Reel 047120/0943), which is within six months of this first identified litigation.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Intel Corp. is a strong operating company and has not filed for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — unclear. While the patent originated from an operating company (Intel) and was transferred to a known NPE chain, there is no explicit evidence in the provided data or Google Patents to suggest Intel is leveraging this chain to assert against competitors on their behalf.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain ends with Cedar Lane Technologies Inc., which is not a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The assignment chain demonstrates multiple strong NPE signals. Specifically, the patent moved from Intel Corp. to a series of shell entities, including known asserter Intellectual Ventures Assets 99 LLC. There are also clear instances of cascading transfers within a short timeframe (January-May 2019), and a pre-litigation transfer to the final assignee, Cedar Lane Technologies Inc., occurring within months of the first recorded lawsuit. The presence of a repeat correspondent, Jason S. Okleshen, across multiple transfers within the chain further supports this verdict.

USPTO Assignment Center search page for verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/