Patent 7836381

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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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

  • Marcos C. Tzannes: At the time of filing (2010-08-09, based on application date), he was an inventor for Aware Inc. The patent itself claims priority to a 2004 provisional application, so he was likely with Aware Inc. then as well.
  • Michael Lund: Similarly, an inventor for Aware Inc. at the time of filing.

No unusual patterns like inventors departing en masse shortly after filing are readily apparent from the patent record.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent US7836381B1 is Aware Inc..

Aware Inc. (NASDAQ: AWRE) is a technology company primarily known for its biometrics software and services. Historically, Aware Inc. was a significant developer of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modem technology. Given the patent's subject matter ("resource sharing in a telecommunications environment" for "DSL systems," "modems," "multicarrier transceivers"), it is highly probable that Aware Inc. shipped products embodying the claims during its active period in the DSL market. Aware Inc. is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

  • 2012-10-17 (executed) / recorded 2012-10-18 — Reel 029279/0471

    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: AWARE, INC.
    • Assignee: TQ DELTA, LLC
    • Correspondent: D. D. MITCHELL; MITCHELL SILBERBERG & KNUPP LLP; 11377 W OLYMPIC BLVD; LOS ANGELES CA 90064
    • Context: Fire-sale / transfer to potential asserter.

  • 2018-09-27 (executed) / recorded 2018-10-10 — Reel 044675/0285

    • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
    • Assignor: TQ DELTA LLC
    • Assignee: DLI LENDING AGENT, LLC
    • Correspondent: MARTHA L ROGERS; KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP; 1100 PEACHTREE STREET, SUITE 2800; ATLANTA GA 30309-4530. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
    • Context: Securitization (patent portfolio used as collateral).

  • 2020-12-21 (executed) / recorded 2021-01-04 — Reel 049583/0970

    • Conveyance: AMENDED AND RESTATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT
    • Assignor: TQ DELTA LLC
    • Assignee: ALTER DOMUS (US) LLC
    • Correspondent: MARTHA L ROGERS; KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP; 1100 PEACHTREE STREET, SUITE 2800; ATLANTA GA 30309-4530. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
    • Context: Amended securitization agreement.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7836381
    2004 : Priority date
    2010 : Filed by Aware Inc
    2010 : Issued
    2012 : Assigned to TQ Delta LLC
    2018 : Security interest to DLI Lending
    2021 : Security interest to Alter Domus

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The patent moved from Aware Inc., an operating company that shipped products, to TQ Delta LLC (Reel 029279/0471, recorded 2012-10-18). TQ Delta LLC does not appear to ship products and is widely identified as a licensing-only entity.
  2. Known asserter in the chain — present. TQ Delta LLC is the current recorded owner of the patent (as the subsequent assignments are security interests, not outright ownership transfers) and is listed as a known patent asserter by Unified Patents and RPX. Google Patents also indicates multiple litigation cases involving this patent.
  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Martha L. Rogers of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP is listed as the correspondent for both the 2018-10-10 security interest (Reel 044675/0285) and the 2021-01-04 amended security interest (Reel 049583/0970) involving TQ Delta LLC.
  4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is a significant time gap between the initial assignment to TQ Delta LLC (2012) and the subsequent security interests (2018, 2021).
  5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. While TQ Delta LLC is a known asserter, the exact date of the first infringement suit involving this patent is not precisely provided in the prompt's data to compare against the 2012-10-17 assignment execution date. Google Patents shows litigation, but specific filing dates for this patent's first suit are not immediately apparent to definitively make this call.
  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Aware Inc. is still an operating company and did not file for bankruptcy before assigning the patent to TQ Delta LLC.
  7. Privateering — not present. There is no information to suggest that TQ Delta LLC is asserting the patent on behalf of Aware Inc. against its competitors.
  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The patent was transferred from an operating company, Aware Inc., to TQ Delta LLC (Reel 029279/0471, recorded 2012-10-18), which is a known patent asserter identified by Unified Patents and RPX. Furthermore, the patent has been involved in multiple litigations, as indicated by Google Patents.

USPTO Assignment Center search for verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

Generated 5/29/2026, 8:49:11 PM