Assignment history

Inventors

• Bert H. Tanaka: Employed by Woven Systems, Inc. at the time of filing.
• Daniel J. Maltbie: Employed by Woven Systems, Inc. at the time of filing.
• Joseph R. Mihelich: Employed by Woven Systems, Inc. at the time of filing.

The inventors assigned their interest to Woven Systems, Inc. on the filing date of the patent application, January 17, 2006. There is no indication from the provided information of all inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee listed on the issued patent US7702742B2 is Fortinet Inc. Fortinet is an operating company that primarily specializes in cybersecurity solutions, including firewalls, endpoint security, and network infrastructure. While the patent describes technology related to high-performance network interfaces for memory transactions, it cannot be definitively determined from the provided patent text or assignment records whether Fortinet Inc. shipped a product directly embodying these specific claims. Fortinet Inc. is currently an active, publicly traded operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2006-01-17 (executed) / recorded 2009-07-31 — Reel 023030/0677

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: MALTBIE, DANIEL J.; MIHELICH, JOSEPH R.; TANAKA, BERT H.
  • Assignee: WOVEN SYSTEMS, INC.
  • Correspondent: LATHROP & GAGE LC, 2345 GRAND BLVD STE 2400, KANSAS CITY, MO 64108-2618
  • Context: Original assignment of invention from inventors to Woven Systems, Inc.

• 2009-07-24 (executed) / recorded 2009-09-02 — Reel 023306/0200

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: WOVEN SYSTEMS, INC.
  • Assignee: WOVEN (ASSIGNMENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF CREDITORS), LLC
  • Correspondent: BEYER LAW GROUP LLP, MARK A BORING, P.O. BOX 1687, CUPERTINO, CA 95015. This correspondent also appears on the subsequent entry.
  • Context: Transfer of assets as part of an assignment for the benefit of creditors, indicating financial distress of Woven Systems, Inc.

• 2009-07-24 (executed) / recorded 2009-09-02 — Reel 023306/0201

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: WOVEN (ASSIGNMENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF CREDITORS), LLC
  • Assignee: FORTINET, INC.
  • Correspondent: BEYER LAW GROUP LLP, MARK A BORING, P.O. BOX 1687, CUPERTINO, CA 95015. This correspondent also appears on the previous entry.
  • Context: Acquisition of intellectual property from Woven Systems' creditors' assignee by Fortinet, Inc.

• 2025-11-19 (executed) / recorded 2025-12-04 — Reel 057030/0225

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: FORTINET, INC.
  • Assignee: PALISADE TECHNOLOGIES, LLP
  • Correspondent: NEAL G. KILGORE, 1500 WEST EL CAMINO REAL, SUITE 210, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA 94040. This correspondent also appears on the subsequent entry.
  • Context: Transfer from operating company (Fortinet) to a new entity, potentially for licensing or assertion purposes.

• 2025-11-19 (executed) / recorded 2025-12-04 — Reel 057030/0227

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: PALISADE TECHNOLOGIES, LLP
  • Assignee: ATHENA SECURITY, LLP
  • Correspondent: NEAL G. KILGORE, 1500 WEST EL CAMINO REAL, SUITE 210, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA 94040. This correspondent also appears on the previous entry.
  • Context: Consecutive transfer between two entities, ending at the current assignee, Athena Security, LLP.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7702742
    2006 : Inventors to Woven Systems Inc
    2009 : Woven Systems to Woven Creditors LLC
         : Woven Creditors LLC to Fortinet Inc
    2010 : Patent issued
    2025 : Fortinet Inc to Palisade Tech LLP
         : Palisade Tech LLP to Athena Security LLP
    2026 : First litigation filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent transferred from Fortinet Inc., an operating company, to Palisade Technologies, LLP (Reel 057030/0225, executed 2025-11-19). This was followed by a transfer from Palisade Technologies, LLP to Athena Security, LLP (Reel 057030/0227, executed 2025-11-19). Both Palisade Technologies, LLP and Athena Security, LLP, with their "LLP" suffix and sequential transfers, exhibit characteristics of shell entities.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Athena Security, LLP is the current assignee and is listed as having litigation associated with this patent family, with cases filed in the Texas Western District Court in 2026 [cite: The provided patent text]. This directly identifies Athena Security, LLP as an active patent asserter.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Neal G. Kilgore, located at 1500 West El Camino Real, Suite 210, Mountain View, CA 94040, is listed as the correspondent for both the transfer from Fortinet Inc. to Palisade Technologies, LLP (Reel 057030/0225) and the subsequent transfer from Palisade Technologies, LLP to Athena Security, LLP (Reel 057030/0227). This recurrence across consecutive assignments involving suspected shell entities is a strong signal. Mark A Boring of Beyer Law Group LLP also appears on two earlier, consecutive assignments related to the Woven Systems, Inc. insolvency (Reel 023306/0200 and 023306/0201).

4. Cascading transfers — Present. There were two consecutive assignments executed on the same day, 2025-11-19, from Fortinet Inc. to Palisade Technologies, LLP, and then from Palisade Technologies, LLP to Athena Security, LLP (Reel 057030/0225 and 057030/0227). These rapid, sequential transfers to entities with similar naming patterns and a shared correspondent are a strong indicator.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignments to Palisade Technologies, LLP and Athena Security, LLP were executed on November 19, 2025, and recorded on December 4, 2025 (Reel 057030/0225, 057030/0227). Litigation involving this patent family began in 2026, as evidenced by case filings in the Texas Western District Court (e.g., 7:26-cv-00158, 7:26-cv-00061, 7:26-cv-00025), placing these transfers within six months prior to the first infringement suits [cite: The provided patent text].

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Present. The transfer from Woven Systems, Inc. to WOVEN (ASSIGNMENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF CREDITORS), LLC, executed on July 24, 2009 (Reel 023306/0200), explicitly indicates an "ASSIGNMENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF CREDITORS," which is a form of insolvency proceeding or fire-sale.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While Fortinet, an operating company, transferred the patent to an NPE (Athena Security, LLP), there is no explicit information to suggest this transfer was made to assert the patent on Fortinet's behalf against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The final assignee is Athena Security, LLP, which is identified as an asserter, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The chain of assignments, particularly the transfers in late 2025 (Reel 057030/0225, 057030/0227), exhibit multiple strong NPE signals: shell-entity transfers, cascading transfers, a repeat correspondent, and pre-litigation transfers leading to a known asserter (Athena Security, LLP) involved in active litigation in 2026. The initial bankruptcy sale of the patent from Woven Systems to Fortinet (Reel 023306/0200, 023306/0201) also provided an opportunity for the patent to enter the secondary market.

For verification, see the USPTO Patent Assignment Search for patent number 7702742: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/.