Assignment history

Inventors

• Ranganath G. Iyengar: Employed by Hewlett Packard Development Co LP at the time of filing. No unusual patterns are discernable from the provided information regarding inventor departure.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent was Hewlett Packard Development Co LP. This entity was part of Hewlett-Packard Company, a major technology corporation known for developing and selling a wide range of hardware (e.g., computers, printers, servers) and software products. It is highly probable that they shipped products embodying the claims related to file systems and storage.

Hewlett-Packard Company split in 2015 into HP Inc. (focused on personal systems and printing) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) (focused on enterprise products and services). Hewlett Packard Development Co LP continued as a legal entity within this structure, primarily managing intellectual property and development for the broader HP/HPE ecosystem. The patent in question was subsequently assigned to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP as part of this corporate restructuring.

Assignment timeline

• 2015-10-27 (executed) / recorded 2015-11-09 — Reel 037079/0001

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
  • Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
  • Correspondent: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, 11445 Compaq Center Dr W, Houston, TX, 77070, US.
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization following the split of Hewlett-Packard Company.

• 2021-01-15 (executed) / recorded 2021-01-26 — Reel 055269/0001

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
  • Assignee: OT Patent Escrow, LLC
  • Correspondent: Matthew S. Stipp, Global IP Law Group, LLC, 1425 K ST NW, STE 1000, WASHINGTON, DC 20005. This correspondent also appears on a later recording in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of patent from an operating company to an intermediate entity, likely for asset management or preparation for further assignment.

• 2021-05-03 (executed) / recorded 2021-05-06 — Reel 056157/0492

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: OT Patent Escrow, LLC
  • Assignee: Valtrus Innovations Limited
  • Correspondent: Matthew S. Stipp, Global IP Law Group, LLC, 1425 K ST NW, STE 1000, WASHINGTON, DC 20005. This correspondent also appeared on the preceding recording in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer from an intermediate entity to the current asserting entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7904686
    2008 : Filed by Hewlett Packard Dev Co LP
    2011 : Issued to Hewlett Packard Dev Co LP
    2015 : Assigned to HPE Dev LP
    2021 : Assigned to OT Patent Escrow LLC
         : Assigned to Valtrus Innovations Ltd
    2025 : First infringement suits filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The assignment to OT Patent Escrow, LLC on 2021-01-26 (Reel 055269/0001) and the subsequent assignment to Valtrus Innovations Limited on 2021-05-06 (Reel 056157/0492) indicate transfers to entities with names (e.g., "Patent Escrow," "Innovations Limited") common for licensing-only companies, rather than operating companies that produce goods.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Valtrus Innovations Limited is the current assignee and is actively involved in multiple district court litigation cases and a PTAB IPR, as indicated by the Google Patents legal events. This demonstrates its role as a patent asserter.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Matthew S. Stipp of Global IP Law Group, LLC served as the correspondent for both the 2021-01-26 assignment to OT Patent Escrow, LLC (Reel 055269/0001) and the 2021-05-06 assignment to Valtrus Innovations Limited (Reel 056157/0492). This recurrence by a firm frequently associated with patent assertion indicates a pattern.
4. Cascading transfers — Present. The transfers from Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP to OT Patent Escrow, LLC (recorded 2021-01-26, Reel 055269/0001) and then to Valtrus Innovations Limited (recorded 2021-05-06, Reel 056157/0492) occurred in rapid succession, approximately four months apart, and involved the same correspondent.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The assignment to the current asserting entity, Valtrus Innovations Limited, was recorded on 2021-05-06 (Reel 056157/0492), while the first reported infringement suits began in 2025. This timeframe is well outside the typical 6-month window to be considered pre-litigation.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication that Hewlett-Packard or Hewlett Packard Enterprise underwent bankruptcy proceedings related to this patent transfer.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP transferred the patent, there is insufficient public information in the provided context to determine if Valtrus Innovations Limited is asserting the patent on HPE's behalf under a specific privateering arrangement, beyond a simple sale.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently held and actively asserted by Valtrus Innovations Limited, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is supported by multiple strong signals: the patent has been transferred through shell entities (OT Patent Escrow, LLC and Valtrus Innovations Limited), Valtrus Innovations Limited is a known asserter with active litigation, the same correspondent (Matthew S. Stipp, Global IP Law Group, LLC) handled the transfers to these entities, and there were cascading transfers between the shell entities within a short timeframe (Reel 055269/0001, 2021-01-26; Reel 056157/0492, 2021-05-06).

For verification, see USPTO Assignment Search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html?ref=patno&id=7904686