Assignment history

Inventors

• Keith Miller (Employer at time of filing: Nokia Corporation - inferred from initial assignment from Nokia)
• Marta Karzewicz (Employer at time of filing: Nokia Corporation - inferred from initial assignment from Nokia)

It is inferred that both inventors were employed by Nokia Corporation at the time of filing, given that Nokia Corporation is the assignor in the first recorded assignment, which transferred the patent from Nokia to Spyder Navigations L.L.C.

Original assignee

The original assignee, as identified by the first assignor in the chain, was Nokia Corporation. Nokia Corporation is a multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics company. They historically shipped, and continue to ship, a wide range of products embodying various communication technologies. Nokia Corporation is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2011-03-22 (executed) / recorded 2011-03-29 — Reel 026044/0305

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: NOKIA CORPORATION
  • Assignee: SPYDER NAVIGATIONS L.L.C., DELAWARE
  • Correspondent: BEYER LAW GROUP LLP, MARK A BORCHARDT, NEW YORK, NY
  • Context: transfer from operating company to a potentially asserting entity

• 2011-07-18 (executed) / recorded 2011-07-22 — Reel 026637/0611

  • Conveyance: MERGER
  • Assignor: SPYDER NAVIGATIONS L.L.C.
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES I LLC, DELAWARE
  • Correspondent: LERNER, DAVID, LITTENBERG, KRUMHOLZ & MENTLIK, LLP, LARRY M. GOLDSTEIN, WESTFIELD, NJ
  • Context: transfer-to-asserter (Intellectual Ventures is a known NPE)

• 2022-07-21 (executed) / recorded 2022-07-21 — Reel 060585/0188

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES I LLC
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 189 LLC, DELAWARE
  • Correspondent: MARSHALL GERSTEIN & BORUN LLP, THOMAS L. PHILIPP, CHICAGO, IL
  • Context: internal reorg within the Intellectual Ventures family

• 2022-07-28 (executed) / recorded 2022-08-02 — Reel 060698/0718

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 189 LLC
  • Assignee: IOT INNOVATIONS LLC, TEXAS
  • Correspondent: NOBLITT & CALDWELL, LLP, W. RALPH CALDWELL, JR., AUSTIN, TX
  • Context: transfer-to-asserter (IOT Innovations LLC is the current plaintiff)

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7593428
    2007 : Filed
    2009 : Issued
    2011 : Assigned to Spyder Navigations LLC
         : Acquired by Intellectual Ventures I LLC
    2022 : Transferred to IV Assets 189 LLC
         : Assigned to IOT Innovations LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer

   • Present: The chain includes transfers to entities with names indicative of shell companies: Spyder Navigations L.L.C. (Reel 026044/0305, 2011-03-29), Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Reel 026637/0611, 2011-07-18), Intellectual Ventures Assets 189 LLC (Reel 060585/0188, 2022-07-21), and the current assignee IOT Innovations LLC (Reel 060698/0718, 2022-08-02). IOT Innovations LLC is actively litigating this patent as a plaintiff, consistent with an NPE.

2. Known asserter in the chain

   • Present: Intellectual Ventures I LLC is a well-known patent assertion entity, appearing as an assignee on Reel 026637/0611 (executed 2011-07-18). IOT Innovations LLC, the current assignee (Reel 060698/0718, 2022-08-02), is identified as the plaintiff in multiple active infringement lawsuits involving this patent.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain

   • Not present: While W. Ralph Caldwell, Jr. of Noblitt & Caldwell, LLP (Correspondent on Reel 060698/0718) is known for representing patent assertion entities, no single correspondent or firm appears on multiple assignment records within this specific chain.

4. Cascading transfers

   • Present: Two instances of cascading transfers are observed. First, the transfer from Nokia Corporation to Spyder Navigations L.L.C. (Reel 026044/0305, executed 2011-03-22) was followed by a transfer from Spyder Navigations L.L.C. to Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Reel 026637/0611, executed 2011-07-18) within a period of less than four months. Second, Intellectual Ventures I LLC transferred the patent to Intellectual Ventures Assets 189 LLC (Reel 060585/0188, executed 2022-07-21), which then transferred it to IOT Innovations LLC (Reel 060698/0718, executed 2022-07-28) within a single week.

5. Pre-litigation transfer

   • Present: The final transfer to IOT Innovations LLC was executed on 2022-07-28 and recorded on 2022-08-02 (Reel 060698/0718). The first recorded infringement lawsuit against SimpliSafe, Inc. was filed on February 17, 2023. This falls within approximately 6.5 months of the transfer, indicating a transfer in anticipation of litigation.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale

   • Not present: There is no evidence in the assignment records or public information suggesting that any assignor in the chain, particularly Nokia Corporation, was undergoing bankruptcy proceedings at the time of transfer.

7. Privateering

   • Unclear: While the patent originated from an operating company (Nokia) and was transferred to a known NPE, there is no direct public evidence (e.g., SEC filings, specific reports) confirming that Nokia is actively orchestrating or funding the assertion by IOT Innovations LLC against its competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE)

   • Not present: The assignment chain terminates with IOT Innovations LLC, an active plaintiff in patent litigation, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The verdict is high confidence NPE due to multiple strong signals. The patent was transferred from an operating company (Nokia Corporation) to a known patent assertion entity, Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Reel 026637/0611, executed 2011-07-18). There were cascading transfers between Intellectual Ventures entities and finally to IOT Innovations LLC (Reel 060585/0188, executed 2022-07-21 and Reel 060698/0718, executed 2022-07-28). The final transfer to IOT Innovations LLC occurred approximately 6.5 months before the first recorded infringement suit, indicating a pre-litigation transfer to an asserting entity.
USPTO Assignment Center Search for US7593428