Assignment history

Inventors

• Jihoon Choi: Unspecified employer at the time of filing; likely a researcher or student at a university given the initial assignment to The University of Texas System.
• Robert W. Heath, Jr.: Unspecified employer at the time of filing; likely a researcher or faculty member at The University of Texas System.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is BOARD OF REGENTS, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM.

The University of Texas System is a public university system primarily focused on education and research, not typically involved in shipping products embodying telecommunications claims in a commercial sense. Their primary line of business is higher education and academic research.

Their current status is operating.

Assignment timeline

Based on the legal events listed in the Google Patents record for US7676007B1:

• 2005-11-23 (executed) / recorded (date not specified in provided text) — Reel N/A
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Robert W. Heath, Jr. and Jihoon Choi (Inventors)
  • Assignee: BOARD OF REGENTS, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided text.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor rights to a university system.
• 2008-05-09 (executed) / recorded (date not specified in provided text) — Reel N/A
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: THE BOARD OF REGENTS, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES HOLDING 40 LLC
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided text.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from a university system to a patent monetization entity.
• 2024-10-09 (executed) / recorded (date not specified in provided text) — Reel 16812/0438
  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: Robert W. Heath, Jr. and Jihoon Choi (Inventors)
  • Assignee: THE BOARD OF REGENTS, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided text.
  • Context: Corrective assignment to address a previous inventor execution date error.
• 2024-10-10 (executed) / recorded (date not specified in provided text) — Reel N/A
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES HOLDING 40 LLC
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided text.
  • Context: Internal transfer between Intellectual Ventures entities.
• 2024-10-16 (executed) / recorded (date not specified in provided text) — Reel N/A
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC
  • Assignee: INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: Not specified in provided text.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from Intellectual Ventures to another entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7676007
    2005 : Filed by Individual inventors
         : Assigned to UT System
    2008 : Assigned to Intellectual Ventures Holding 40 LLC
    2010 : Patent granted
    2024 : Corrective assignment to UT System
         : Assigned to Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC
         : Assigned to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.

   • 2008-05-09 assignment from THE BOARD OF REGENTS, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM to INTELLECTUAL VENTURES HOLDING 40 LLC. Intellectual Ventures is a known patent monetization entity, and "Holding" in the name suggests a non-operating entity.
   • 2024-10-10 assignment from INTELLECTUAL VENTURES HOLDING 40 LLC to INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC. This is an internal transfer within a known NPE.
   • 2024-10-16 assignment from INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC to INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC. The current assignee, Integral Wireless Technologies LLC, has a name consistent with a licensing-focused entity, and given the chain, it's highly likely to be a shell entity for patent assertion.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present.

   • 2008-05-09 assignment to INTELLECTUAL VENTURES HOLDING 40 LLC. Intellectual Ventures is explicitly listed as a known asserter.
   • 2024-10-10 assignment to INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC, another Intellectual Ventures entity.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. The provided Google Patents data does not include correspondent information for most assignments, except for the reel/frame number of one corrective assignment. Therefore, recurrence cannot be determined.

4. Cascading transfers — Present.

   • There are three assignments occurring in quick succession in 2024:
     • 2024-10-09 (Corrective Assignment to UT System)
     • 2024-10-10 (IV Holding 40 LLC to IV Assets 199 LLC)
     • 2024-10-16 (IV Assets 199 LLC to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC)
       These three events within a week suggest a deliberate restructuring or transfer leading up to potential assertion, especially given the involvement of Intellectual Ventures.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. While the Google Patents record indicates "Family has litigation" and lists several US cases filed in 2025 and 2026, the exact filing dates of these lawsuits are after the 2024 assignments. Without precise lawsuit filing dates directly linked to this patent, it's hard to definitively say if the 2024 transfers were within 6 months before the first suit specifically naming US7676007. However, the proximity in time (2024 assignments, 2025/2026 lawsuits) is suggestive.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The original assignee (UT System) did not file for bankruptcy. The transfer from UT System to Intellectual Ventures was an assignment, not explicitly part of a bankruptcy proceeding.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While Intellectual Ventures is known for privateering, the context of the transfer from a university to IV, and then to Integral Wireless Technologies, does not explicitly indicate an operating company initiating assertion against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not terminate at any known defensive aggregators like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on the presence of multiple strong signals. The patent was assigned to Intellectual Ventures Holding 40 LLC on 2008-05-09, a well-known patent assertion entity. This was followed by a series of cascading transfers within Intellectual Ventures entities, culminating in its assignment to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC on 2024-10-16, a company whose name and position in the chain strongly suggest a licensing-only operation. The rapid succession of assignments in October 2024 further indicates a structured approach to patent monetization. Refer to USPTO Assignment Center search for US7676007 for verification.