Assignment history

Inventors

• Marcos C. Tzannes
• Michael Lund

Their employer at the time of filing was Aware Inc.

Original assignee

The original assignee on US Patent 7844882 was Aware Inc. Aware Inc. is a biometrics software and services company, providing solutions for fingerprint, face, iris, and speaker recognition, primarily for government and law enforcement applications, including border monitoring and surveillance. The company commercialized DSL products and intellectual property after going public in 1996, but divested assets unrelated to biometrics between 2009 and 2012 to focus exclusively on biometrics. As of today, Aware Inc. is an operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2012-10-18 (executed) / recorded 2012-10-18 — Reel 029199/0569

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: AWARE, INC.
  • Assignee: TQ DELTA, LLC
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, 28 STATE STREET, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES, 02109
  • Context: Transfer-to-asserter (divestment of DSL intellectual property)

• 2018-10-10 (executed) / recorded 2018-10-10 — Reel 046427/0233

  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: TQ DELTA, LLC
  • Assignee: DLI LENDING AGENT, LLC
  • Correspondent: KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP, MAILSTOP: IP DOCKETING, 1100 PEACHTREE STREET, SUITE 2800, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES, 30309
  • Context: Securitization (granting a security interest in the patent)

• 2021-01-04 (executed) / recorded 2021-01-04 — Reel 051835/0150

  • Conveyance: AMENDED AND RESTATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: TQ DELTA LLC
  • Assignee: ALTER DOMUS (US) LLC
  • Correspondent: KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP, MAILSTOP: IP DOCKETING, 1100 PEACHTREE STREET, SUITE 2800, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES, 30309. This is the same correspondent as the 2018-10-10 entry.
  • Context: Securitization (amended security agreement)

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7844882
    2004 : Priority date
    2010 : Filed by Aware Inc
         : Patent Issued
    2012 : Assigned to TQ Delta LLC
    2018 : Security interest to DLI Lending Agent
    2021 : Security interest to Alter Domus

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. In 2012, Aware Inc., a company that had commercialized DSL products but was transitioning to focus on biometrics, assigned the patent to TQ Delta, LLC. TQ Delta, LLC describes itself as a "technology development and licensing company" with a large portfolio of DSL-related patents, many of which are essential to DSL standards. Their stated business is providing solutions and licensing for the communications industry. Their contact address is in Austin, TX. This indicates a transfer from an operating company to a licensing-focused entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — present. TQ Delta, LLC has been identified in numerous patent infringement lawsuits against telecommunications companies, including significant litigation against Comcast, DISH Network, Verizon, ADTRAN, 2Wire (CommScope), and ZyXEL, asserting its DSL patent portfolio. The PTAB case IPR2022-00664 related to this patent also lists Unified Patents as the petitioner, indicating that TQ Delta LLC is an entity against which Unified Patents (an anti-NPE organization) has acted.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, Mailstop: IP Docketing, 1100 Peachtree Street, Suite 2800, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30309, appears as the correspondent for both the 2018-10-10 (Reel 046427/0233) and 2021-01-04 (Reel 051835/0150) assignments involving TQ Delta, LLC and its secured parties.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. The recorded assignments do not show multiple consecutive transfers through chained LLCs within a short period.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The patent was assigned to TQ Delta, LLC in October 2012. TQ Delta LLC has been involved in extensive litigation, with cases filed as early as November 2013 and July 2014, and an IPR filed in May 2016. While the assignment preceded litigation, the exact timing relative to the first infringement suit involving this specific patent within six months is not definitively clear from the provided records.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Aware Inc. is an operating company, and the transfer to TQ Delta, LLC appears to be a divestment of a specific IP portfolio rather than a sale due to bankruptcy. DLI Lending Agent, LLC was placed into receivership in April 2019, however, their role was as a secured party, not the primary operating owner, and the transfer of security interest to Alter Domus occurred later.

7. Privateering — unclear. While Aware Inc. divested its DSL IP, there is no explicit evidence in the provided information to suggest that TQ Delta, LLC is asserting patents on Aware Inc.'s behalf against Aware's former competitors. Aware Inc.'s current focus is biometrics, a different industry than the DSL technology covered by the patent.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The current assignee is Alter Domus (US) LLC as a secured party, and TQ Delta, LLC retains the underlying ownership for licensing and assertion. None of the listed entities are known defensive aggregators.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on multiple strong signals. The initial transfer from Aware Inc. to TQ Delta, LLC in October 2012 (Reel 029199/0569) represents a shell-entity transfer, as TQ Delta, LLC operates primarily as a technology licensing firm and has been involved in extensive patent litigation. TQ Delta, LLC is a known asserter, as evidenced by numerous lawsuits against telecommunications companies and its identification as a patent owner targeted by Unified Patents IPRs. The recurrence of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP as the correspondent on subsequent security interest filings further strengthens this pattern.

For verification, refer to the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/