Assignment history

Inventors

• Brian Galvin: Employer at the time of filing is not explicitly stated in the provided information. As of September 2010, Brian Thomas Galvin (CRD# 5804241) was registered with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.. It is not clear if this is the same Brian Galvin, nor his employer in March 2008.
• Alan McCord: Employer at the time of filing is not determinable from the provided information.
• Donald R. Boys: Employer at the time of filing is not determinable from the provided information. There is a "Donald J. Taylor" who worked for the IRS between 2002 and 2008, but this is not the named inventor "Donald R. Boys".

The patent application was filed by Michelli Capital LLC, and the inventors assigned their interest to Tethys Prime, Inc. on April 22, 2008, which was then assigned to Michelli Capital Limited Liability Company on August 27, 2008. This pattern of inventors assigning their rights to an entity shortly after the priority date, rather than being employees of the original assignee at the time of filing, is not inherently unusual but can sometimes precede portfolio transfers.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent US7930287B2 is Michelli Capital LLC.

Based on the available information, "Michelli Capital LLC" (the original assignee for the patent) appears distinct from "Michelli Weighing & Measurement." "Michelli Weighing & Measurement" is described as a provider of test and measurement services and equipment, founded in 1947, and was acquired by Summit Park in 2023. This company is actively shipping products and providing services. However, the patent assignee is "Michelli Capital LLC," which often implies an investment or holding company rather than an operating entity directly involved in product sales. There is no information to suggest that Michelli Capital LLC, the patent owner, shipped a product embodying the claims of US7930287. Its primary line of business, as a "Capital" entity, would likely involve investments or intellectual property management. Its current status (as Michelli Capital Limited Liability Company) is that its interest in the patent was assigned to OL Security LLC in December 2015.

Assignment timeline

The following assignment records are found for US7930287:

• 2008-04-10 to 2008-04-22 (executed) / recorded 2008-04-22 — Reel 020839/0267

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: GALVIN, BRIAN; MCCORD, ALAN; BOYS, DONALD R. (inventors)
  • Assignee: TETHYS PRIME, INC., WASHINGTON
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor rights to an initial corporate entity.

• 2008-07-10 (executed) / recorded 2008-08-27 — Reel 021448/0992

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: TETHYS PRIME, INC.
  • Assignee: MICHELLI CAPITAL LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, DELAWA
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer from the initial corporate entity to the eventual original assignee of the patent.

• 2015-08-26 (executed) / recorded 2015-12-22 — Reel 037346/0985

  • Conveyance: MERGER
  • Assignor: MICHELLI CAPITAL LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
  • Assignee: OL SECURITY LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, DELAWARE
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer of patent ownership, potentially via a merger or as part of a larger asset transfer, to the current assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7930287
    2008 : Filed by Michelli Capital LLC
         : Inventors assigned to Tethys Prime
         : Tethys Prime assigned to Michelli Capital LLC
    2011 : Issued to Michelli Capital LLC
    2015 : Assigned to OL Security LLC
    2026 : Litigation filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The transfer from Michelli Capital Limited Liability Company to OL Security Limited Liability Company (Reel 037346/0985) exhibits this signal. Michelli Capital LLC, while sharing a name component with an operating company, appears to be an IP holding entity. OL Security LLC's primary business appears to be providing security guard services, which is completely unrelated to "systems and methods for compound searching" as claimed in the patent. This strongly suggests that OL Security LLC is a licensing-only entity with respect to this patent.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. While OL Security LLC's business of providing security guards is unrelated to the patent's subject matter, it is not listed on the provided public NPE lists (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, etc.). However, its current activity in litigation in Delaware District Court (cases 1:26-cv-00466, 1:26-cv-00461, 1:26-cv-00397) suggests an assertion strategy.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. The provided snippets do not specify correspondent details for each assignment record, so recurrence cannot be confirmed.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. The assignments are spaced out: 2008 (inventors to Tethys, Tethys to Michelli Capital) and 2015 (Michelli Capital to OL Security). There are not multiple consecutive transfers within a short period through chained LLCs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The last assignment to OL Security LLC was recorded on 2015-12-22 (executed 2015-08-26, Reel 037346/0985). The known litigation cases were filed in 2026, which is much longer than 6 months after the transfer.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication in the provided information that Michelli Capital LLC or any prior owner filed for bankruptcy leading to the patent transfer.
7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no information in the provided snippets (such as SEC filings or specific news coverage) to confirm or deny privateering activity.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The current assignee, OL Security LLC, is not a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on two strong signals. Firstly, the current assignee, OL Security LLC, is identified through job postings as a company providing physical security guard services, which is entirely unrelated to the "systems and methods for compound searching" claimed in US7930287. This constitutes a clear shell-entity pattern, where a patent is held by an entity with no apparent operating business in the field of the patent. Secondly, the presence of active litigation filed in 2026 in the Delaware District Court (cases 1:26-cv-00466, 1:26-cv-00461, 1:26-cv-00397) indicates an assertion strategy. The transfer of the patent from Michelli Capital Limited Liability Company to OL Security Limited Liability Company was recorded on 2015-12-22 (Reel 037346/0985), indicating a change in ownership well before the 2026 litigation.

For verification, see USPTO Assignment Center search for US7930287.