Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor is Laurence C. Klein. At the time of filing, Mr. Klein, along with Imagination Software, Inc., assigned rights to DONNER INC. on January 26, 2009 (recorded February 2, 2009, Reel 023307/0445). This suggests Imagination Software, Inc. was the inventor's employer or a company he was associated with, and the invention originated there. There is no information to suggest unusual patterns of inventors departing the original assignee.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is Renaissance Group IP Holdings LLC. Given its name, which includes "IP Holdings LLC," it is highly improbable that this entity shipped a product embodying the claims. Its primary line of business appears to be patent holding and licensing. Based on the assignment records, Renaissance Group IP Holdings LLC transferred the patent to Project Paperless, LLC in February 2012 and is no longer the current owner.

Assignment timeline

• 2009-01-26 (executed) / recorded 2009-02-02 — Reel 023307/0445

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: IMAGINATION SOFTWARE, INC., KLEIN, LAWRENCE C.
  • Assignee: DONNER INC.
  • Correspondent: BOHANNON, JOHN P.; LIPSITZ & ALLISON, LLC, 755 MAIN ST, MONROE, CT 06468. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Inventor and associated company transfer rights post-application filing, pre-grant.

• 2011-02-22 (executed) / recorded 2011-03-01 — Reel 021950/0912

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: DONNER INC.
  • Assignee: RENAISSANCE GROUP IP HOLDINGS, LLC
  • Correspondent: BOHANNON, JOHN P.; LIPSITZ & ALLISON, LLC, 755 MAIN ST, MONROE, CT 06468. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of rights back to the applicant/IP holding entity, pre-grant.

• 2012-01-26 (executed) / recorded 2012-02-02 — Reel 027960/0173

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: RENAISSANCE GROUP IP HOLDINGS, LLC
  • Assignee: PROJECT PAPERLESS, LLC
  • Correspondent: LIPSITZ, GERALD; LIPSITZ & ALLISON, LLC, 755 MAIN STREET, MONROE, CT 06468. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer to a new IP holding/licensing entity.

• 2012-09-11 (executed) / recorded 2012-09-19 — Reel 028610/0674

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: PROJECT PAPERLESS, LLC
  • Assignee: MPHJ TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS, LLC
  • Correspondent: LIPSITZ, GERALD; LIPSITZ & ALLISON, LLC, 755 MAIN STREET, MONROE, CT 06468. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer to a known patent asserter.

• 2013-06-25 (executed) / recorded 2013-07-02 — Reel 030046/0918

  • Conveyance: SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: MPHJ TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS, LLC
  • Assignee: BONITA SUNRISE, LLC; WEXFORD HOLDINGS, LLC
  • Correspondent: GUGGENHIME, MICHAEL J.; BRYAN CAVE, LLP, ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 30TH FLOOR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111.
  • Context: Securitization or financing arrangement involving the patent.

• 2012-09-11 (executed) / recorded 2013-10-04 — Reel 030303/0333

  • Conveyance: NUNC PRO TUNC ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: PROJECT PAPERLESS, LLC
  • Assignee: MPHJ TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS, LLC
  • Correspondent: LIPSITZ, GERALD; LIPSITZ & ALLISON, LLC, 755 MAIN STREET, MONROE, CT 06468. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Clarification/correction of a previous assignment, likely to perfect title for MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7986426
    2008 : Filed by Renaissance Group IP Holdings LLC
    2009 : Inventor to Donner Inc
    2011 : Donner Inc to Renaissance Group
         : Patent issued
    2012 : Renaissance to Project Paperless
         : Project Paperless to MPHJ
         : First infringement suit filed
    2013 : MPHJ secures financing
         : Project Paperless to MPHJ nunc pro tunc

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent moved from "Renaissance Group IP Holdings, LLC" (Reel 021950/0912, Reel 027960/0173), whose name indicates an IP holding company, to "PROJECT PAPERLESS, LLC" (Reel 027960/0173, Reel 028610/0674, Reel 030303/0333), and finally to "MPHJ TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS, LLC" (Reel 028610/0674, Reel 030303/0333), all of which exhibit characteristics of licensing-focused entities.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. MPHJ TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS, LLC is a widely recognized Non-Practicing Entity (NPE). Google Patents legal event data lists numerous litigations associated with MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC concerning this patent family.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. John P. Bohannon of Lipsitz & Allison, LLC is listed as the correspondent on Reel 023307/0445 (2009-02-02) and Reel 021950/0912 (2011-03-01). Gerald Lipsitz of Lipsitz & Allison, LLC is listed as the correspondent on Reel 027960/0173 (2012-02-02), Reel 028610/0674 (2012-09-19), and Reel 030303/0333 (2013-10-04). The consistent use of the same law firm (Lipsitz & Allison, LLC) across multiple assignments in the chain indicates a coordinated strategy.
4. Cascading transfers — Present. The patent was transferred from Renaissance Group IP Holdings, LLC to Project Paperless, LLC (recorded 2012-02-02, Reel 027960/0173), and then from Project Paperless, LLC to MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC (recorded 2012-09-19, Reel 028610/0674). These two assignments occurred within approximately 7.5 months, and both involved the same correspondent firm (Lipsitz & Allison, LLC).
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The patent was assigned to Project Paperless, LLC (recorded 2012-02-02, Reel 027960/0173) approximately two months before the earliest recorded infringement lawsuit involving this patent, which was filed on April 12, 2012, in the Virginia Eastern District Court (case 1:12-cv-00334).
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence of a bankruptcy fire-sale was found for any of the assignors.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC is a known asserter, there is no direct evidence in the provided patent or assignment records to confirm a specific operating company engaged in privateering through MPHJ.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The ownership chain terminates with MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC, a known NPE, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence
This verdict is justified by the presence of multiple strong signals: a known NPE (MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC) in the chain (Reel 028610/0674, Reel 030303/0333), cascading transfers between shell entities (Reel 027960/0173, Reel 028610/0674), a repeat correspondent law firm across numerous assignments, and a pre-litigation transfer (Reel 027960/0173) occurring shortly before the first lawsuits.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search results for US7986426: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patents/[7986426](/patent/7986426).

References

https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/litigation/Virginia%20Eastern%20District%20Court/case/1%3A12-cv-00334
https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/[ptab](/ptab)/case/IPR2013-00302
https://patents.google.com/patent/[US7986426B1](/patent/US7986426B1)/en ("Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.) MPHJ Tech Investments LLC")
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7986426B1/en ("US case filed in Texas Western District Court litigation")
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7986426B1/en ("US case filed in Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit litigation")
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7986426B1/en ("US case filed in Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit litigation")
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7986426B1/en ("US case filed in Virginia Eastern District Court litigation")
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7986426B1/en ("US case filed in Virginia Eastern District Court litigation")
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7986426B1/en ("US case filed in Louisiana Eastern District Court litigation")
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7986426B1/en ("US case filed in Georgia Northern District Court litigation")
https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patents/7986426