Assignment history

Inventors

• James Stuart Wight: At the time of filing on July 2, 2004, James Stuart Wight was likely an individual inventor, as the application was filed by "Individual" and subsequently assigned to ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION shortly thereafter. His employer at the time of filing is not explicitly stated, but the initial "Individual" filing suggests he was not employed by a large corporate entity in a typical in-house invention capacity for the initial filing.

Original assignee

The patent application for US7738595 was initially filed by the individual inventor, James Stuart Wight. The first corporate assignee recorded was ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION, which received the assignment on August 27, 2004. Information regarding whether ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION shipped a product embodying the claims, their primary line of business, or their current operational status is not readily available through public patent records or general web searches. Therefore, their status is unclear.

Assignment timeline

The following is a chronological list of recorded assignments for US Patent 7738595, based on a search of the USPTO Assignment Center.

• 2004-07-28 (executed) / recorded 2004-08-27 — Reel 012579/0474

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: WIGHT, JAMES STUART
  • Assignee: ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: GREGORY E. MOORE, 1500 WEST EL CAJON BLVD., SUITE 240, SAN DIEGO, CA 92108.
  • Context: Transfer from individual inventor to a corporate entity. ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION was a wireless LAN chip company that wound down operations in May 2005.

• 2005-11-21 (executed) / recorded 2005-12-07 — Reel 017042/0456

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
  • Assignee: ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
  • Correspondent: BARRY P. GOLDMAN, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW GROUP LLP, 18775 MADRONE CT., SARATOGA, CA 95070.
  • Context: Internal reorganization or name change from "Corporation" to "Inc." for IceFyre.

• 2005-12-22 (executed) / recorded 2006-01-09 — Reel 017122/0126

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
  • Assignee: ZARBANA DIGITAL FUND, LLC
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL L. KENNEDY, 321 NORTH CLARK STREET, SUITE 2400, CHICAGO, IL 60610.
  • Context: Transfer from the now defunct IceFyre Semiconductor to Zarbana Digital Fund, LLC. This appears to be a fire-sale or acquisition of assets from a distressed company.

• 2024-10-09 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-10 — Reel 068202/0695

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ZARBANA DIGITAL FUND LLC
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC
  • Correspondent: JEFFREY C. WRIGHT, INTELLECTUAL VENTURES, 3450 118TH AVE SE, BELLEVUE, WA 98005. This correspondent and firm are highly associated with Intellectual Ventures, a known patent monetization entity.
  • Context: Transfer to an Intellectual Ventures entity, a well-known patent monetization company.

• 2024-10-16 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-16 — Reel 068222/0209

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC
  • Assignee: INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: JEFFREY C. WRIGHT, INTELLECTUAL VENTURES, 3450 118TH AVE SE, BELLEVUE, WA 98005. This correspondent also appears on the previous assignment.
  • Context: Transfer from one Intellectual Ventures entity (IVA 199 LLC) to another entity (Integral Wireless Technologies LLC), which has been linked to Empire IP, a Texas monetization firm that divests portfolios from Intellectual Ventures.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7738595
    2004 : Filed by James Stuart Wight
         : Assigned to IceFyre Semi Corp
    2005 : Assigned to IceFyre Semi Inc
         : Assigned to Zarbana Digital Fund LLC
    2010 : Patent Issued
    2024 : Assigned to Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC
         : Assigned to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.

   • ZARBANA DIGITAL FUND, LLC (Reel 017122/0126, recorded 2006-01-09): This entity name suggests a financial investment vehicle rather than an operating company. No readily available information confirms it produced products embodying the claims.
   • INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC (Reel 068202/0695, recorded 2024-10-10): This is a known Intellectual Ventures entity. Intellectual Ventures operates as a patent monetization firm and is widely described as a patent troll.
   • INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC (Reel 068222/0209, recorded 2024-10-16): This entity was created in Texas on September 30, 2024, and is linked to Empire IP, a Texas monetization firm that divests portfolios from Intellectual Ventures. Its managing members are identified as New York lawyers, Daniel Mitry and Timothy Salmon, founders of Empire IP. This strongly indicates a licensing-only shell entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present.

   • INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC (Reel 068202/0695, recorded 2024-10-10): Intellectual Ventures (IV) is a well-known patent monetization firm, often described as a patent troll, that acquires and licenses large patent portfolios.
   • INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC (Reel 068222/0209, recorded 2024-10-16): Integral Wireless Technologies LLC is identified as a Texas monetization firm (Empire IP LLC) that has initiated litigation for patents acquired from Intellectual Ventures. Cases have been filed against D-Link and Lutron.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.

   • JEFFREY C. WRIGHT, INTELLECTUAL VENTURES (Reel 068202/0695, recorded 2024-10-10, and Reel 068222/0209, recorded 2024-10-16): Jeffrey C. Wright from Intellectual Ventures appears as the correspondent for both the transfer to Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC and the subsequent transfer to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC. This indicates a consistent legal representative for the patent monetization activities originating from Intellectual Ventures.

4. Cascading transfers — Present.

   • Zarbana Digital Fund LLC to Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC (2024-10-10) and Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC (2024-10-16) occurred within a very short timeframe (6 days). Both transfers used the same correspondent, Jeffrey C. Wright, Intellectual Ventures, indicating a coordinated transfer within a monetization strategy.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present.

   • The transfer to INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC was recorded on 2024-10-16 (Reel 068222/0209). Litigation involving Integral Wireless Technologies LLC and this patent family was filed in March 2025 (Florida Southern District Court) and May 2025 (Texas Eastern District Court). This indicates a transfer within 6 months before the first infringement suit, specifically for assertion purposes.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Present.

   • The transfer from ICEFYRE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC. to ZARBANA DIGITAL FUND, LLC (Reel 017122/0126, recorded 2006-01-09) occurred after IceFyre Semiconductor Corporation announced it was winding down operations in May 2005. This is consistent with a fire-sale of assets from a failing company.

7. Privateering — Unclear.

   • While Intellectual Ventures and Integral Wireless Technologies LLC are actively asserting the patent, there's no explicit public information in the provided context or search results indicating an operating company transferred the patent specifically to assert against its competitors on its behalf. Intellectual Ventures' model involves aggregating patents for monetization, which can include patents from various sources.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present.

   • The chain terminates with Integral Wireless Technologies LLC, which is actively involved in patent litigation, not defensive aggregation.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The assignment history shows multiple strong signals: the initial acquisition from a defunct operating company (IceFyre) by Zarbana Digital Fund, LLC (Reel 017122/0126, 2006-01-09) resembling a fire-sale, followed by the acquisition by Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC (Reel 068202/0695, 2024-10-10), a known patent monetization entity. This was quickly followed by a transfer to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC (Reel 068222/0209, 2024-10-16), a shell entity directly associated with a Texas monetization firm (Empire IP LLC) and linked to active litigation shortly after the transfer. The recurrence of Jeffrey C. Wright as correspondent further solidifies this pattern.

USPTO Patent Assignment Search for US7738595