Assignment history

Inventors

• Marta Karczewicz (likely Nokia Inc. at time of filing)
• Antti Olli Hallapuro (likely Nokia Inc. at time of filing)

It is highly probable that both inventors were employed by Nokia Inc. at the time of filing, as Nokia Inc. is listed as the original assignee and filing entity. There are no immediate unusual patterns noted regarding inventor departure dates that would suggest a portfolio fire-sale around the filing date.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Nokia Inc..

Nokia Inc. (part of the larger Nokia Corporation) is primarily known for manufacturing and selling telecommunications equipment, including mobile phones and network infrastructure. They have shipped numerous products embodying video coding technologies, which are the subject of the patent's claims. Nokia Inc. is an operating company. The original assignee, Nokia Inc., is an active operating entity, though the patent was reassigned to Nokia Technologies Oy, another operating entity within the Nokia group.

Assignment timeline

• 2002-01-04 (executed) / recorded 2002-01-04 — Reel 001275/0681
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Karczewicz, Marta and Hallapuro, Antti
  • Assignee: Nokia Corporation
  • Correspondent: R. K. Doolittle, Nokia Corporation, 6000 Connection Dr., Irving, TX 75039.
  • Context: Internal transfer of inventor rights to the corporate entity.
• 2015-01-29 (executed) / recorded 2015-02-17 — Reel 032230/0847
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Nokia Corporation
  • Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
  • Correspondent: Catherine M. Colford, Nokia Corporation, 6000 Connection Dr., Irving, TX 75039. This correspondent's firm is the same as the previous record.
  • Context: Internal reorganization within the Nokia group, transferring patent ownership to a subsidiary focused on technology licensing and development.
• 2024-02-14 (executed) / recorded 2024-02-16 — Reel 063683/0316
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Nokia Technologies Oy
  • Assignee: Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.a r.l.
  • Correspondent: Catherine M. Colford, Nokia Technologies OY, 6000 Connection Dr., Irving, TX 75039. This correspondent's firm is the same as the previous record.
  • Context: Transfer of patent from operating company to a known licensing entity.
• 2024-02-14 (executed) / recorded 2024-02-16 — Reel 063683/0317
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.a r.l.
  • Assignee: PanOptis Patent Management, LLC
  • Correspondent: Catherine M. Colford, Nokia Technologies OY, 6000 Connection Dr., Irving, TX 75039. This correspondent's firm is the same as the previous records.
  • Context: Transfer between licensing entities, likely part of a portfolio sale or restructuring.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 6950469
    2001 : Filed by Nokia Inc
    2002 : Inventors assign to Nokia Corp
    2005 : Patent issued
    2015 : Nokia Corp assigns to Nokia Tech Oy
    2024 : Nokia Tech Oy assigns to Conversant
         : Conversant assigns to PanOptis

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.
   • The transfer from Nokia Technologies Oy to Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.a r.l. (Reel 063683/0316, executed 2024-02-14) and subsequently to PanOptis Patent Management, LLC (Reel 063683/0317, executed 2024-02-14) indicates transfer to licensing-focused entities. Conversant and PanOptis are known entities involved in patent licensing and assertion, often associated with shell-like structures for litigation purposes.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present.
   • Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.a r.l. and PanOptis Patent Management, LLC are both known patent assertion entities (PAEs), also commonly referred to as NPEs. Conversant, previously Mosaid / Conversant, is a well-known NPE. PanOptis is also a frequent plaintiff in patent litigation. This is evident from the transfers on Reel 063683/0316 and 063683/0317, both executed 2024-02-14.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.
   • Catherine M. Colford, Nokia Corporation/Nokia Technologies OY, 6000 Connection Dr., Irving, TX 75039, is listed as the correspondent for the 2015-02-17 assignment (Reel 032230/0847) and also for both 2024-02-16 assignments (Reel 063683/0316 and 063683/0317). This indicates the same legal counsel handled the internal transfer within Nokia and then the subsequent transfers to NPEs.
4. Cascading transfers — Present.
   • There are two consecutive assignments executed on the same date (2024-02-14) and recorded on the same date (2024-02-16): from Nokia Technologies Oy to Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.a r.l. (Reel 063683/0316) and then from Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.a r.l. to PanOptis Patent Management, LLC (Reel 063683/0317). This rapid, back-to-back transfer within a few days (execution to recording) and between two known licensing entities strongly suggests a choreographed transfer for assertion purposes.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear.
   • The assignments to Conversant and PanOptis were executed on 2024-02-14. Google Patents shows a US case filed in Minnesota District Court (0:24-cv-04269) for this patent. The exact filing date of this specific case is not immediately available from the provided Google Patents snippet (only "2024-cv-04269" is given, implying a 2024 filing). If the suit was filed shortly after February 2024, this would be a strong signal. Without the precise filing date, it remains unclear. However, the transfers occurring in early 2024, alongside a 2024 litigation filing, are highly suggestive.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present.
   • There is no indication that Nokia Inc., Nokia Corporation, or Nokia Technologies Oy filed for bankruptcy around the time of the patent transfers. The transfers appear to be strategic sales rather than forced liquidations.
7. Privateering — Unclear.
   • While Nokia Technologies Oy transferred the patent to known NPEs, and the patent has active litigation, it's not explicitly stated that Conversant or PanOptis are asserting on Nokia's behalf against specific competitors identified by Nokia. This would typically be revealed in SEC filings or specific industry reports, which are not provided here.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present.
   • The patent was transferred to known assertion entities (Conversant, PanOptis), not to defensive aggregators like RPX, AST, or LOT Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The assignment chain clearly shows a transfer from an operating company (Nokia Technologies Oy) to known patent assertion entities, Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.a r.l., and immediately thereafter to PanOptis Patent Management, LLC, both executed on 2024-02-14 and recorded on 2024-02-16 (Reel 063683/0316, 063683/0317). This is further supported by the presence of multiple litigation records involving the patent, as noted in Google Patents, and the cascading nature of the transfers between the NPEs. The same correspondent attorney handling these transfers adds to the confidence in this assessment.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US6950469: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/