Assignment history

Inventors

• Charles I. Peddle (Tandon Group Ltd)

Original assignee

The original assignee, Tandon Group Ltd, does not appear to have shipped a product embodying the claims of US7238550. Their primary line of business, based on the patent's context, appears to be related to electronics manufacturing, particularly memory modules. Tandon Group Ltd's current status is unclear from the provided information.

Assignment timeline

• 2003-02-18 (executed) / recorded 2003-02-20 — Reel 013802/0077

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Peddle, Charles I.
  • Assignee: Celetron International, Ltd., Bermuda
  • Correspondent: BLAKELY, SOKOLOFF, TAYLOR & ZAFMAN
  • Context: Transfer from inventor to a new entity, likely part of initial corporate structuring or a sale.

• 2005-03-21 (executed) / recorded 2005-08-04 — Reel 016354/0022

  • Conveyance: Patent Collateral Assignment and Security Interest
  • Assignor: Celetronix International, Ltd.
  • Assignee: Jabil Circuit, Inc., Florida
  • Correspondent: JOHN S. CARPENTER, SR., JABIL CIRCUIT, INC.
  • Context: Securitization of patent assets, likely in connection with a loan or other financial arrangement.

• 2005-03-21 (executed) / recorded 2005-08-04 — Reel 016345/0981

  • Conveyance: Patent Collateral Assignment and Security Interest
  • Assignor: Celetronix USA, Inc.
  • Assignee: Jabil Circuit, Inc., Florida
  • Correspondent: JOHN S. CARPENTER, SR., JABIL CIRCUIT, INC.
  • Context: Securitization of patent assets, likely in connection with a loan or other financial arrangement.

• 2011-06-20 (executed) / recorded 2022-10-22 — Reel 061504/0592

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Celetron International, Ltd; Celetronix USA Inc; Tandon Group Ltd
  • Assignee: Nichols-IP PLLC, Utah
  • Correspondent: DEREK R. NICHOLS, NICHOLS-IP PLLC, (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Transfer of ownership, potentially a fire-sale or consolidation. The recording date is significantly later than the execution date.

• 2014-03-05 (executed) / recorded 2014-03-19 — Reel 032479/0786

  • Conveyance: Release of Patent Collateral Assignment and Security Interest
  • Assignor: Jabil Circuit, Inc.
  • Assignee: Celetronix USA, Inc., California
  • Correspondent: JOHN S. CARPENTER, SR., JABIL CIRCUIT, INC.
  • Context: Release of prior security interest, indicating the debt or obligation was satisfied.

• 2023-09-21 (executed) / recorded 2024-05-30 — Reel 067562/0349

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Nichols-IP PLLC
  • Assignee: Helix Micro Innovations LLC, New York
  • Correspondent: DEREK R. NICHOLS, NICHOLS-IP PLLC, (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Transfer to current assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7238550
    2003 : Assigned to Celetron Intl Ltd
    2005 : Collateral assigned to Jabil Circuit
    2007 : Patent issued
    2011 : Assigned to Nichols-IP PLLC
    2014 : Collateral released by Jabil Circuit
    2023 : Assigned to Helix Micro Innovations LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present

   • 2011-06-20 (executed) / recorded 2022-10-22 — Reel 061504/0592: Transfer to "Nichols-IP PLLC, Utah". The "IP" suffix strongly suggests a licensing-focused entity.
   • 2023-09-21 (executed) / recorded 2024-05-30 — Reel 067562/0349: Transfer to "Helix Micro Innovations LLC, New York". The generic nature of the name and the "LLC" structure are consistent with a shell entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear

   • Neither "Nichols-IP PLLC" nor "Helix Micro Innovations LLC" are immediately recognizable from common public NPE lists (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, Intellectual Ventures, etc.). Further research would be needed to confirm if they are known asserters. However, the presence of active litigation for an expired patent, as noted in the summary, strongly suggests assertion activity.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present

   • DEREK R. NICHOLS, NICHOLS-IP PLLC appears as the correspondent for both the 2011-06-20 (executed) / recorded 2022-10-22 assignment to Nichols-IP PLLC (Reel 061504/0592) and the 2023-09-21 (executed) / recorded 2024-05-30 assignment to Helix Micro Innovations LLC (Reel 067562/0349). This recurrence is a strong signal of a repeat player in the patent assertion space, handling transfers for related entities.

4. Cascading transfers — unclear

   • While there are multiple transfers, the gaps between the recorded dates (2003, 2005, 2014, 2022, 2024) are generally longer than 24 months, with the exception of the 2022/2024 transfers, but these are for different assignors/assignees, making it not a clear cascading transfer. The significant delay in recording the 2011 assignment until 2022 complicates the interpretation of a rapid-fire transfer chain.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear

   • The patent expired on November 21, 2023. Litigation for the family is noted to have cases filed in 2024 and 2025. The most recent assignment to Helix Micro Innovations LLC was executed on 2023-09-21 and recorded on 2024-05-30 (Reel 067562/0349). This assignment date is within 6 months of some of the earliest reported litigation in 2024, specifically 2:24-cv-00629 filed in the Texas Eastern District Court. This timing suggests a potential pre-litigation transfer to enable assertion.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present

   • No information provided suggests the original assignee or any subsequent assignor filed for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — not present

   • No information provided suggests an operating company transferring to an NPE for assertion against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present

   • The chain does not terminate at any known defensive aggregators like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence
This verdict is based on the strong presence of multiple NPE-pattern signals. Specifically, the transfers to "Nichols-IP PLLC" (Reel 061504/0592) and "Helix Micro Innovations LLC" (Reel 067562/0349) strongly indicate shell entities due to their names and the nature of patent holding companies. The recurrence of DEREK R. NICHOLS, NICHOLS-IP PLLC as the correspondent across multiple key assignments (Reel 061504/0592 and Reel 067562/0349) further solidifies this, indicating a consistent legal representative for what appear to be related assertion-focused entities. Additionally, the transfer to Helix Micro Innovations LLC (executed 2023-09-21) shortly before reported litigation in 2024 (e.g., 2:24-cv-00629) is a strong indicator of a pre-litigation transfer for assertion purposes.

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