Assignment history

Inventors

• Edward Colby Munger: Employer at time of filing not explicitly stated in the patent text, but involved in an assignment of interest to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) after the filing date.
• Robert Dunham Short, III: Employer at time of filing not explicitly stated, but involved in an assignment of interest to SAIC after the filing date.
• Victor Larson: Employer at time of filing not explicitly stated, but involved in an assignment of interest to SAIC after the filing date.
• Michael Williamson: Employer at time of filing not explicitly stated, but involved in an assignment of interest to SAIC after the filing date.

Unusual Pattern Note: The patent application was filed by Virnetx Inc. on September 30, 2002. However, the first recorded assignment of the inventors' interest for this patent family was executed on December 22, 2003, and recorded on January 12, 2004 (Reel 014878/0169), transferring rights to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). This sequence suggests that while Virnetx was the applicant, the inventors' direct rights were transferred to SAIC before SAIC subsequently assigned them to Virnetx Inc., or there was an initial assignment to Virnetx Inc. which was then transferred to SAIC (not explicitly shown in the provided assignment records from inventors), and then back to Virnetx. Without further information, the direct employer of the inventors at the precise time of the patent application filing is not definitively determinable from these records, but their involvement with SAIC shortly after filing is noted.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is Virnetx Inc.

• Shipped a product embodying the claims: Unclear. Virnetx Inc. is widely recognized as a patent assertion entity whose primary business model is patent licensing and litigation. While they claim to develop secure communication technologies, it is not clear if they directly ship products embodying the specific claims of US7490151 to end-users in a commercial sense.
• Primary line of business: Development, acquisition, and licensing of secure communication patents.
• Current status: Operating (as a patent licensing and assertion company).

Assignment timeline

• 2003-12-22 (executed) / recorded 2004-01-12 — Reel 014878/0169

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS).
  • Assignor: LARSON, VICTOR; MUNGER, EDMUND COLBY; SCHMIDT, DOUGLAS CHARLES; SHORT III, ROBERT DUNHAM; WILLIAMSON, MICHAEL
  • Assignee: SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: BROWNING & BHASIN, PC, 2033 GATEWAY PLAZA, SUITE 500, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95110
  • Context: Transfer of inventor rights to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).

• 2004-09-24 (executed) / recorded 2004-10-04 — Reel 015481/0110

  • Conveyance: CORRECTIVE COVERSHEET TO CORRECT THE ASSIGNEES' ADDRESS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 014878, FRAME 0169.
  • Assignor: LARSON, VICTOR; MUNGER, EDMUND COLBY; SCHMIDT, DOUGLAS CHARLES; SHORT III, ROBERT DUNHAM; WILLIAMSON, MICHAEL
  • Assignee: SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: BROWNING & BHASIN, PC, 2033 GATEWAY PLACE SUITE 500, SAN JOSE, CA 95110. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Administrative correction to the prior assignment record for SAIC.

• 2006-12-29 (executed) / recorded 2007-01-10 — Reel 019253/0292

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS).
  • Assignor: SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
  • Assignee: VIRNETX INC.
  • Correspondent: LEE & HAYES, PLLC, 421 W. RIVERSIDE AVENUE, SUITE 500, SPOKANE, WA 99201
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to Virnetx Inc.

• 2012-01-12 (executed) / recorded 2012-01-19 — Reel 027581/0081

  • Conveyance: CHANGE OF ADDRESS OF ASSIGNEE
  • Assignor: VIRNETX INC.
  • Assignee: VIRNETX INC.
  • Correspondent: VIRNETX INC., 1900 CAMPUS COMMONS DRIVE, SUITE 210, RESTON, VA 20191
  • Context: Administrative change of address for Virnetx Inc.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7490151
    2002 : Filed by Virnetx Inc
    2003 : Inventors assign to SAIC
    2004 : Correction to SAIC assignment
    2007 : Assigned to Virnetx Inc
    2009 : Patent issued
    2012 : Virnetx Inc address change
    2022 : Patent expired

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred from Science Applications International Corporation (an operating company) to Virnetx Inc. (Reel 019253/0292, executed 2006-12-29), which is a widely recognized patent assertion entity primarily focused on licensing and litigation rather than product sales.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. The current assignee, Virnetx Inc., is a well-known patent assertion entity (PAE) with a significant history of litigation, as evidenced by numerous cases listed in the provided patent information.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Browning & Bhasin, PC handled both the initial assignment from inventors to SAIC (Reel 014878/0169, recorded 2004-01-12) and the subsequent corrective coversheet (Reel 015481/0110, recorded 2004-10-04). While this firm represented SAIC, Lee & Hayes, PLLC handled the transfer to Virnetx Inc. (Reel 019253/0292, recorded 2007-01-10). The recurring correspondent for distinct phases of the chain is notable.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. The transfers in the chain are spaced over several years (2003-2004, then 2006-2007), not exhibiting rapid, consecutive assignments.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The patent was assigned to Virnetx Inc., a known asserter, on 2006-12-29 (executed) / 2007-01-10 (recorded) (Reel 019253/0292). Virnetx Inc. was founded in 2005. This transfer occurred before the patent's issuance in 2009 and the first explicitly dated district court litigation (6:10-cv-00417 in 2010), strongly indicating an acquisition for future assertion.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no evidence in the assignment records or patent information to suggest a bankruptcy sale.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While the transfer from SAIC to Virnetx Inc. could be construed as an operating company transferring to an NPE, there is no explicit information detailing whether Virnetx is asserting this patent on SAIC's behalf against SAIC's competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The final assignee in the chain is Virnetx Inc., which is a known NPE, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence
This verdict is based on multiple strong signals: the transfer of the patent to Virnetx Inc. (Reel 019253/0292, recorded 2007-01-10), a widely recognized patent assertion entity, and the clear pre-litigation nature of this transfer, occurring prior to the patent's issuance and any explicitly dated litigation. The "shell-entity transfer" and "known asserter in the chain" signals are strongly present.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search for US7490151.