Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor is James Stuart Wight. At the time of filing (September 30, 2004), the patent application was filed by an "Individual," implying James Stuart Wight was either self-assigning or had not yet formally assigned the patent to a corporate entity. The first corporate assignment from the inventor occurred on November 28, 2005. This pattern, where an individual inventor transfers ownership to a corporate entity over a year after filing, is not inherently unusual but differs from cases where patents are assigned to an employer at the very outset.

Original assignee

The patent was initially filed by an individual (James Stuart Wight). The first corporate assignee recorded for this patent was ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC., which received an assignment from the inventor on November 28, 2005, and also from ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION on November 22, 2005. It is unclear if ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC. (or CORPORATION) shipped products embodying the claims. The rapid subsequent transfer to ZARBANA DIGITAL FUND, LLC, an entity whose name suggests an investment or holding function, indicates that ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC. likely served as an intermediate holding or monetization vehicle rather than a long-term operating company for this specific patent. The current status of ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC. is not readily determinable through public records in the context of product sales.

Assignment timeline

• 2005-11-22 (executed) / recorded 2005-11-22 — Reel 016768/0500
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
  • Assignee: ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
  • Correspondent: SNELL & WILMER, L.L.P., 400 E. VAN BUREN, ONE ARIZONA CENTER, PHOENIX, AZ 85004-2202. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer between likely related corporate entities.
• 2005-11-28 (executed) / recorded 2005-12-05 — Reel 016833/0843
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: WIGHT, JAMES STUART
  • Assignee: ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
  • Correspondent: SNELL & WILMER, L.L.P., 400 E. VAN BUREN, ONE ARIZONA CENTER, PHOENIX, AZ 85004-2202. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Initial assignment from individual inventor to corporate entity.
• 2005-12-23 (executed) / recorded 2006-01-11 — Reel 017006/0164
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
  • Assignee: ZARBANA DIGITAL FUND, LLC
  • Correspondent: SNELL & WILMER, L.L.P., ONE ARIZONA CENTER, 400 E VAN BUREN, PHOENIX, AZ 85004-2202. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer to a likely patent holding/investment entity.
• 2006-01-19 (executed) / recorded 2006-02-09 — Reel 017127/0401
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: WIGHT, JAMES STUART
  • Assignee: ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: SNELL & WILMER, L.L.P., ONE ARIZONA CENTER, 400 E VAN BUREN, PHOENIX, AZ 85004-2202. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Secondary assignment from individual inventor to another related corporate entity.
• 2024-10-10 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-15 — Reel 063604/0675
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ZARBANA DIGITAL FUND LLC
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC
  • Correspondent: SEED Intellectual Property Law Group PLLC, 701 Fifth Ave Suite 5100, Seattle, WA, 98104. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer to a known Non-Practicing Entity (NPE), Intellectual Ventures.
• 2024-10-16 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-21 — Reel 063625/0854
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC
  • Assignee: INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: SEED Intellectual Property Law Group PLLC, 701 Fifth Ave Suite 5100, Seattle, WA, 98104. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer between Intellectual Ventures affiliates or to an affiliated NPE.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7548592
    2004 : Filed by James Stuart Wight
    2005 : Assigned to Icefyre Semiconductor Inc
         : Assigned from inventor to Icefyre
    2006 : Assigned to Zarbana Digital Fund LLC
         : Inventor to Icefyre Corp (2nd time)
    2009 : Issued
    2024 : Assigned to Intellectual Ventures
         : Assigned to Integral Wireless

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. Transfers to ZARBANA DIGITAL FUND, LLC (Reel 017006/0164), INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC (Reel 063604/0675), and INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC (Reel 063625/0854) involve entities with names (e.g., "Fund, LLC", "Assets LLC") and known business models (Intellectual Ventures, Integral Wireless Technologies LLC's litigation history) indicative of patent holding or licensing-only operations, not product manufacturing.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC (Reel 063604/0675) is part of Intellectual Ventures, a well-known NPE. INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC, the current assignee (Reel 063625/0854), is also a known patent asserting entity, evidenced by multiple patent infringement lawsuits.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. SNELL & WILMER, L.L.P. handled four consecutive assignments between November 2005 and February 2006 (Reel 016768/0500, 016833/0843, 017006/0164, 017127/0401). SEED Intellectual Property Law Group PLLC handled the two most recent assignments in October 2024 (Reel 063604/0675, 063625/0854).
4. Cascading transfers — Present. There are two instances:
   • A series of assignments in late 2005 and early 2006 (from the inventor and Icefyre entities to Zarbana Digital Fund, LLC) occurred within months, facilitated by the same correspondent.
   • More recently, the patent transferred from Zarbana Digital Fund LLC to Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC (executed 2024-10-10) and then to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC (executed 2024-10-16) within a six-day period, utilizing the same correspondent firm.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The transfers to Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC (executed 2024-10-10) and Integral Wireless Technologies LLC (executed 2024-10-16) occurred within six months prior to the earliest listed litigation for the patent family (e.g., 2:25-cv-00798 in Texas Eastern District Court, filed 2025), suggesting these transfers were arranged in preparation for assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence of any assignor undergoing bankruptcy proceedings related to these transfers.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While Intellectual Ventures is associated with privateering, the direct evidence within the assignment chain for this specific patent does not definitively point to an operating company acting behind Integral Wireless Technologies LLC.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The final assignee, Integral Wireless Technologies LLC, is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The patent exhibits multiple strong NPE patterns, including transfers to known shell entities (Zarbana Digital Fund, LLC) and prominent NPEs (Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC and Integral Wireless Technologies LLC), a consistent pattern of repeat correspondents, cascading transfers in both early and recent periods, and transfers occurring immediately prior to litigation. These signals, particularly the involvement of Intellectual Ventures and a known asserting entity like Integral Wireless Technologies LLC, strongly indicate an NPE strategy.
USPTO Assignment Center search for US7548592