Patent 7670612

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Ownership chain (2)

Asserters network →

Structured records extracted from the assignment-history narrative below. Each entity links to its full ownership-network profile.

  1. 2004-08-31 · reel 012297/0038 · Assignment of Assignor's Interest

    MILLER, FRED H.INNERCAP TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

    Correspondent: ROBERT E MCDONALD · MCDONALD IP LAW GROUP

  2. 2018-09-07 · recorded 2018-10-18 · reel 050044/0001 · Assignment of Assignor's Interest

    INNERCAP TECHNOLOGIES, INC.INNERCAP IP, LLC

    Correspondent: KEVIN WAGNER

    transfer-to-asserter

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Inventors

  • Fred H. Miller: Employer at the time of filing: INNERCAP Technologies Inc.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is INNERCAP Technologies Inc. The company's primary line of business was focused on the development of multi-compartment capsule technology for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications, aligning directly with the claims of the patent. Publicly available information regarding specific products shipped by INNERCAP Technologies Inc. embodying the claims is limited. The company appears to have transferred its intellectual property, including this patent, to INNERCAP IP, LLC in 2018. While INNERCAP Technologies Inc. is listed as the plaintiff in a recent litigation, the patent ownership has formally shifted to an IP holding entity.

Assignment timeline

  • 2004-08-31 (executed) / recorded 2004-08-31 — Reel 012297/0038

    • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
    • Assignor: MILLER, FRED H.
    • Assignee: INNERCAP TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Correspondent: ROBERT E MCDONALD, MCDONALD IP LAW GROUP, PLLC, 12626 NORTH UPSTREAM DRIVE, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78253.
    • Context: Initial assignment from the inventor to the original assignee.

  • 2018-09-07 (executed) / recorded 2018-10-18 — Reel 050044/0001

    • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
    • Assignor: INNERCAP TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Assignee: INNERCAP IP, LLC
    • Correspondent: KEVIN WAGNER, 8 THE GREEN, STE A, DOVER, DE 19901.
    • Context: Transfer from an operating company to an IP holding entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7670612
    2004 : Inventor assigned to INNERCAP Technologies Inc
    2010 : Patent issued
    2018 : Assigned to INNERCAP IP LLC
    2026 : Lawsuit filed (INNERCAP Tech Inc v Walmart)

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was assigned from "INNERCAP TECHNOLOGIES, INC." to "INNERCAP IP, LLC" on 2018-09-07 (Reel 050044/0001). The name "INNERCAP IP, LLC" strongly suggests an intellectual property holding company, which is a common characteristic of a shell entity. The correspondent's address, "8 THE GREEN, STE A, DOVER, DE 19901," is a known registered agent service address in Delaware, further supporting this.
  2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. While INNERCAP Technologies Inc. is acting as a plaintiff in current litigation, it is not listed on standard public NPE directories. The current owner of record, INNERCAP IP, LLC, also does not appear on these lists as a widely recognized NPE, though its structure suggests it acts as one. The assertion activity itself is indicative, but without inclusion on established lists, it remains unclear.
  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. Robert E McDonald handled the first assignment (Reel 012297/0038), and Kevin Wagner handled the second (Reel 050044/0001).
  4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There were only two assignments, separated by over 14 years.
  5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The last assignment occurred on 2018-09-07 (Reel 050044/0001), which is more than six months prior to the filing of the INNERCAP Technologies, Inc. v. Walmart Inc. lawsuit on April 27, 2026.
  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence of the original assignee or any subsequent assignee filing for bankruptcy.
  7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no public information or SEC filings available to suggest that the patent was transferred to an NPE to assert on behalf of an operating company.
  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not terminate with a known defensive aggregator (e.g., RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, OIN).

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The patent was transferred from INNERCAP Technologies, Inc. to INNERCAP IP, LLC on 2018-09-07 (Reel 050044/0001), with the assignee registered at a Delaware agent service address. This shell-entity transfer, combined with the subsequent assertion of related intellectual property against Walmart Inc. by INNERCAP Technologies Inc., strongly indicates a patent monetization strategy typical of a Non-Practicing Entity.

USPTO Patent Assignment Search for US7670612

Generated 5/29/2026, 9:05:14 PM