Assignment history

Inventors

• Ruediger Pfaff (Daimler AG)
• Martin Schnabel (Daimler AG)
• Joachim Suess (Daimler AG)

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent was Daimler AG. Daimler AG is a German multinational automotive company that designs, manufactures, and sells a wide range of vehicles, including passenger cars (under the Mercedes-Benz brand), trucks, and vans. The company has a history of producing diesel engines and directly injecting internal combustion engines, which aligns with the technology of US7513238. Daimler AG was renamed Mercedes-Benz Group AG in February 2022 to reflect its focus on luxury passenger vehicles. The company is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2007-03-27 (executed) / recorded 2007-03-27 — Reel 019124/0896
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Ruediger Pfaff, Martin Schnabel, Joachim Suess
  • Assignee: DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG
  • Correspondent: N/A (inventor assignment)
  • Context: Internal reorg/initial assignment from inventors to company
• 2008-05-14 (executed) / recorded 2008-05-14 — Reel 020976/0889
  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG
  • Assignee: DAIMLER AG
  • Correspondent: N/A
  • Context: Corporate name change from DaimlerChrysler AG to Daimler AG.
• 2012-01-31 (executed) / recorded 2012-01-31 — Reel 027624/0585
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: DAIMLER AG
  • Assignee: BURANI CONSULTING LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
  • Correspondent: N/A
  • Context: Transfer to an unknown entity.
• 2015-12-11 (executed) / recorded 2015-12-11 — Reel 037273/0458
  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: BURANI CONSULTING LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
  • Assignee: CHEMTRON RESEARCH LLC
  • Correspondent: N/A
  • Context: Merger of Burani Consulting into Chemtron Research LLC.
• 2020-07-01 (executed) / recorded 2020-07-01 — Reel 053583/0493
  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG
  • Assignee: DAIMLER AG
  • Correspondent: N/A
  • Context: Corrective assignment to update the application number, confirming a change of name.
• 2023-09-25 (executed) / recorded 2023-09-25 — Reel 065015/0641
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: CHEMTRON RESEARCH LLC
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 190 LLC
  • Correspondent: Robert A. Parsons, INTELLECTUAL VENTURES MANAGEMENT, LLC, 2800 156TH AVE SE, BELLEVUE, WA, UNITED STATES, 98007. This correspondent also appears in other tracked patent assignments.
  • Context: Transfer to a known patent asserter.
• 2023-10-13 (executed) / recorded 2023-10-13 — Reel 065227/0107
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 190 LLC
  • Assignee: AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
  • Correspondent: N/A
  • Context: Transfer from a known patent asserter to another entity.
• 2024-03-26 (executed) / recorded 2024-03-26 — Reel 066911/0261
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
  • Assignee: LONGHORN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP LLC
  • Correspondent: Michael J. Mondelli, MANDELI LAW PLLC, 3500 Maple Ave Ste 1200, Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, 75219. This correspondent also appears in other tracked patent assignments.
  • Context: Transfer to the current asserting entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7513238
    2007 : Assigned to DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG
    2008 : Name change to DAIMLER AG
    2012 : Assigned to BURANI CONSULTING LLC
    2015 : Merged to CHEMTRON RESEARCH LLC
    2020 : Corrective assignment to DAIMLER AG
    2023 : Assigned to INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 190 LLC
         : Assigned to AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    2024 : Assigned to LONGHORN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The patent moved from an operating company (Daimler AG) to BURANI CONSULTING LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (Reel 027624/0585), then to CHEMTRON RESEARCH LLC (Reel 037273/0458), then to INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 190 LLC (Reel 065015/0641), then to AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC (Reel 065227/0107), and finally to LONGHORN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP LLC (Reel 066911/0261). While some intermediate entities have generic names, Intellectual Ventures is a known patent licensing entity. AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC appears to be an AI products and services company, but its involvement in this chain for an internal combustion engine patent suggests a portfolio acquisition rather than product development. Longhorn Automotive Group LLC appears to be a used car dealership based on online search results, which is inconsistent with developing or implementing internal combustion engine technology itself.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 190 LLC is part of Intellectual Ventures, a well-known patent licensing and assertion entity. This is evidenced by the assignment on Reel 065015/0641, executed and recorded on 2023-09-25. Longhorn Automotive Group LLC is also actively asserting this patent in district court cases against various automotive manufacturers.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Robert A. Parsons of INTELLECTUAL VENTURES MANAGEMENT, LLC is listed as the correspondent for the assignment to INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 190 LLC (Reel 065015/0641). Michael J. Mondelli of MANDELI LAW PLLC is listed as the correspondent for the assignment to LONGHORN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP LLC (Reel 066911/0261). This firm also represents Longhorn Automotive Group LLC in litigation. The presence of these specific attorneys, particularly Michael J. Mondelli, acting for sequential assignees or related litigation, is a strong indicator of a coordinated assertion strategy.
4. Cascading transfers — present. There are several rapid transfers: from CHEMTRON RESEARCH LLC to INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 190 LLC (2023-09-25, Reel 065015/0641), then to AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC (2023-10-13, Reel 065227/0107), and then to LONGHORN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP LLC (2024-03-26, Reel 066911/0261). These transfers occurred within a span of approximately six months.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The patent was assigned to Longhorn Automotive Group LLC on March 26, 2024 (Reel 066911/0261). Longhorn Automotive Group LLC filed a complaint against Volvo Car Corp. and AB Volvo on July 31, 2024, within six months of the assignment. This pattern suggests the transfer was arranged to enable assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Daimler AG (now Mercedes-Benz Group AG) is a large, operating automotive company and has not undergone a bankruptcy fire-sale related to this patent.
7. Privateering — unclear. While the original operating company (Daimler AG) transferred the patent, there is no explicit evidence from the provided data that Daimler AG is acting through Longhorn Automotive Group LLC to assert against competitors.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not end at a known defensive aggregator like RPX, Allied Security Trust (AST), LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on several strong signals: the transfer of the patent from an operating company (Daimler AG) through multiple entities including a known patent asserter (Intellectual Ventures Assets 190 LLC) and shell-like entities (BURANI CONSULTING LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, CHEMTRON RESEARCH LLC, AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC), culminating in its ownership by Longhorn Automotive Group LLC which appears to be a used car dealership, not a developer of internal combustion engine technology. The rapid, cascading transfers within a short period (Reel 065015/0641, Reel 065227/0107, Reel 066911/0261), coupled with the pre-litigation transfer (Reel 066911/0261) directly preceding numerous infringement lawsuits, strongly indicate an assertion-driven strategy. The recurrence of specific correspondent attorneys also supports this conclusion.

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