Assignment history

Inventors

• Donn Rochette
• Paul O'Leary
• Dean Huffman

All inventors were associated with the original assignee, Trigence Corp., at the time of the provisional application filing in September 2003.

Original assignee

The original assignee of US patent 7,519,814 was Trigence Corp.

Trigence Corp. developed virtualization technology designed to encapsulate applications and move them between servers. This technology was embodied in a product initially called "Trigence Application-in-a-Box" and later rebranded as AppZero. The company itself eventually changed its name to AppZero Corp. It appears the company shipped a product that embodied the claims of the patent. The company, after several name changes and assignments, is now known as Virtamove Corp. and appears to be operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2004-09-13 (executed) / recorded 2004-10-04 — Reel 015338/0393

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Huffman, Dean; O'Leary, Paul; Rochette, Donn
  • Assignee: Trigence Corp.
  • Correspondent: Donald R. Boys, Central Coast Patent Agency, Inc., 3 Hangar Way Ste D, Watsonville, CA 95076
  • Context: Standard assignment of invention rights from the inventors to their employer.

• 2009-03-05 (executed) / recorded 2009-03-05 — Reel 022359/0569

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: Trigence Corp.
  • Assignee: Appzero Corp.
  • Correspondent: Donald R. Boys, Central Coast Patent Agency, Inc., 3 Hangar Way Ste D, Watsonville, CA 95076 (recurring correspondent)
  • Context: A corporate name change from Trigence Corp. to Appzero Corp.

• 2010-10-06 (executed) / recorded 2010-10-06 — Reel 025095/0106

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Appzero Corp.
  • Assignee: Appzerosoftware Corp.
  • Correspondent: Donald R. Boys, Central Coast Patent Agency, Inc., 3 Hangar Way Ste D, Watsonville, CA 95076 (recurring correspondent)
  • Context: Internal reorganization, transferring the patent to a differently named corporate entity.

• 2010-10-13 (executed) / recorded 2010-10-13 — Reel 025114/0971

  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: Appzero Corp.
  • Assignee: Appzero Software Corp.
  • Correspondent: Donald R. Boys, Central Coast Patent Agency, Inc., 3 Hangar Way Ste D, Watsonville, CA 95076 (recurring correspondent)
  • Context: Correction of the assignee's name from the previous assignment.

• 2015-09-21 (executed) / recorded 2015-10-08 — Reel 036329/0146

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: Appzero Software Corp.
  • Assignee: Comerica Bank
  • Correspondent: Robert M. Gielowski, Gielowski, Federick & Associates, PLLC, 2501 E. Beltline SE, Suite 210, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
  • Context: The patent was pledged as collateral to secure financing from Comerica Bank.

• 2018-09-21 (executed) / recorded 2018-09-25 — Reel 046938/0923

  • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
  • Assignor: Comercia Bank [sic]
  • Assignee: Appzero Software Corp.
  • Correspondent: John S. Paniaguas, Clark Hill PLC, 151 S. Old Woodward, Suite 200, Birmingham, MI 48009
  • Context: Release of the security interest by the bank, returning full rights to Appzero Software Corp.

• 2018-09-27 (executed) / recorded 2018-09-27 — Reel 047029/0166

  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: Comerica Bank
  • Assignee: Appzero Software Corp.
  • Correspondent: John S. Paniaguas, Clark Hill PLC, 151 S. Old Woodward, Suite 200, Birmingham, MI 48009 (recurring correspondent)
  • Context: Correction of the assignor's name ("Comercia Bank" to "Comerica Bank") from the release document.

• 2024-11-18 (executed) / recorded 2024-11-19 — Reel 074157/0192

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: Appzero Software Corp.
  • Assignee: Virtamove Corp.
  • Correspondent: Appzero Software Corp., 1001 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 2, Cambridge, MA 02138
  • Context: Another corporate name change, from Appzero Software Corp. to Virtamove Corp.

• 2024-12-12 (executed) / recorded 2024-12-12 — Reel 074465/0425

  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: Comerica Bank
  • Assignee: Virtamove Corp. (formerly Appzero Software Corp.)
  • Correspondent: John S. Paniaguas, Clark Hill PLC, 151 S. Old Woodward Ave., Ste 200, Birmingham, MI 48009 (recurring correspondent)
  • Context: A corrective assignment to update the assignee name on the previous release of security interest to reflect the most recent name change.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7519814
    2003 : Priority application filed
    2004 : Assigned to Trigence Corp
    2009 : Issued
         : Name change to Appzero Corp
    2010 : Assigned to Appzero Software Corp
         : Corrective assignment filed
    2015 : Security interest to Comerica Bank
    2018 : Security interest released
         : Corrective release filed
    2024 : Name change to Virtamove Corp
         : Corrective assignment filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Not present. The assignments have been between related operating companies (Trigence → AppZero → Virtamove) or for financing purposes (Comerica Bank). The current assignee, Virtamove Corp., appears to be an operating company.

2. Known asserter in the chain: Not present. None of the assignees (Trigence Corp., Appzero Corp., Appzero Software Corp., Comerica Bank, Virtamove Corp.) appear on standard lists of high-frequency patent asserters.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Present. Donald R. Boys of Central Coast Patent Agency, Inc. handled the initial assignment and all subsequent transfers and name changes through 2010 (Reels 015338/0393, 022359/0569, 025095/0106, 025114/0971). John S. Paniaguas of Clark Hill PLC handled the release of the security interest and its subsequent corrections in 2018 and 2024 (Reels 046938/0923, 047029/0166, 074465/0425). The recurrence indicates a consistent relationship with counsel but does not, in this case, point to a known NPE attorney.

4. Cascading transfers: Not present. The transfers are separated by years and are primarily related to corporate name changes or financing events, not rapid, sequential transfers between shell LLCs.

5. Pre-litigation transfer: Present. According to litigation data from Unified Patents and Darts-ip, the first litigation involving this patent was filed in early 2024. The final corporate name change to Virtamove Corp. was executed on 2024-11-18 and recorded the next day. While this is a name change rather than a transfer to a third party, its timing just before recent litigation in 2024-2025 is noteworthy.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings in the assignment record.

7. Privateering: Not present. The chain of title remains within the same corporate family that developed the technology.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present. The patent has not been transferred to a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

The patent has remained with its originator, which has undergone several name changes (Trigence → AppZero → Virtamove). The assignment history shows a standard corporate evolution, including securing and releasing debt, rather than a transfer to a non-practicing entity for assertion. Virtamove Corp., the current assignee, appears to be an operating company continuing the business of the original inventor entity. The recent litigation in 2024 and 2025 is therefore best characterized as an operating company asserting its own patents.

A complete record of assignments for US Patent 7,519,814 can be viewed at the USPTO Patent Assignment Search.