Patent 7987002

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

The named inventor on US Patent 7987002 is Lars-Berno Fredriksson. At the time of filing (2006-05-26), Fredriksson assigned his interest to Kvaser Consultant AB on 2006-06-05. This suggests Kvaser Consultant AB was likely his employer or an entity with which he was closely associated. Kirk M. McInerney is listed as an assignor in 2009 for the same patent family, indicating he is also an inventor on a related application, but his employer is not specified in the patent text.

Original assignee

The entity named as the original assignee on the issued patent is Xinshu Management, L.L.C. While the inventor Lars-Berno Fredriksson initially assigned his rights to Kvaser Consultant AB, Kvaser subsequently changed its name to Timegalactic AB, which then assigned the patent rights to Xinshu Management, L.L.C. before the patent was granted.

Xinshu Management, L.L.C. does not appear to have shipped products embodying the claims of the patent. Its name, "Management, L.L.C.," and the fact that it acted as its own correspondent for an assignment record, suggest it functioned as a patent holding or licensing entity. Xinshu Management, L.L.C. was later merged into Callahan Cellular L.L.C. in 2015.

Assignment timeline

  • 2006-06-05 (executed) / recorded 2006-06-19 — Reel 018151/0588

    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: FREDRIKSSON, LARS-BERNO
    • Assignee: KVASER CONSULTANT AB
    • Correspondent: LAWRENCE L. PRIEDMAN.
    • Context: Transfer of inventor's rights to an operating company.

  • 2007-04-04 (executed) / recorded 2007-04-20 — Reel 019171/0118

    • Conveyance: CHANGE OF NAME
    • Assignor: KVASER CONSULTANT AKTIEBOLAG
    • Assignee: TIMEGALACTIC AB
    • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP - (DC). This correspondent recurs later in the chain.
    • Context: Internal corporate change of name.

  • 2009-01-06 (executed) / recorded 2009-01-20 — Reel 019171/0121

    • Conveyance: CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE DOCUMENT DATE
    • Assignor: KVASER CONSULTANT AKTIEBOLAG
    • Assignee: TIMEGALACTIC AB
    • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP - (DC). This correspondent recurs later in the chain.
    • Context: Correction of a previous assignment's execution date.

  • 2009-05-03 (executed) / recorded 2009-05-20 — Reel 023303/0880

    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: TIMEGALACTIC AB
    • Assignee: XINSHU MANAGEMENT, L.L.C.
    • Correspondent: XINSHU MANAGEMENT, L.L.C.
    • Context: Transfer to a patent holding/licensing entity.

  • 2009-05-17 (executed) / recorded 2009-05-20 — Reel 023303/0883

    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: MCINERNEY, KIRK M.
    • Assignee: XINSHU MANAGEMENT, L.L.C.
    • Correspondent: XINSHU MANAGEMENT, L.L.C.
    • Context: Transfer of an inventor's interest to the patent holding entity.

  • 2015-09-23 (executed) / recorded 2015-10-14 — Reel 034091/0716

    • Conveyance: MERGER
    • Assignor: XINSHU MANAGEMENT, L.L.C.
    • Assignee: CALLAHAN CELLULAR L.L.C.
    • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP - (DC). This correspondent recurred earlier in the chain.
    • Context: Merger of one patent holding entity into another.

  • 2023-09-25 (executed) / recorded 2023-10-02 — Reel 053526/0424

    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: CALLAHAN CELLULAR L.L.C.
    • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 190 LLC
    • Correspondent: GREGORY S. MCMURRAY, LAW OFFICE OF GREGORY S. MCMURRAY.
    • Context: Transfer to a known patent assertion entity.

  • 2023-10-13 (executed) / recorded 2023-10-18 — Reel 053738/0558

    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 190 LLC
    • Assignee: AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    • Correspondent: WILLIAM S. MCELWEE, THE MCELWEE LAW FIRM. This correspondent recurs later in the chain.
    • Context: Transfer from one patent assertion entity to another shell entity.

  • 2024-03-26 (executed) / recorded 2024-04-03 — Reel 054653/0256

    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    • Assignee: LONGHORN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP LLC
    • Correspondent: WILLIAM S. MCELWEE, THE MCELWEE LAW FIRM. This correspondent recurred earlier in the chain.
    • Context: Transfer to the current patent assertion entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7987002
    2006 : Inventor assigns to Kvaser Consultant AB
    2007 : Kvaser changes name to Timegalactic AB
    2009 : Timegalactic assigns to Xinshu Mgmt LLC
         : Inventor McInerney assigns to Xinshu Mgmt LLC
    2011 : Patent US7987002 issued
    2015 : Xinshu merges into Callahan Cellular LLC
    2023 : Callahan assigns to Intellectual Ventures
         : Intellectual Ventures assigns to AI-Core Tech LLC
    2024 : AI-Core Tech assigns to Longhorn Automotive
         : First infringement suits filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.

    • Xinshu Management, L.L.C. (Reel 023303/0880, executed 2009-05-03) has "Management" in its name, no known products, and acted as its own correspondent, indicative of a shell entity.
    • Callahan Cellular L.L.C. (Reel 034091/0716, executed 2015-09-23) acquired Xinshu through merger and later transferred to Intellectual Ventures; no known products related to the patent's claims.
    • Intellectual Ventures Assets 190 LLC (Reel 053526/0424, executed 2023-09-25) is part of a known patent assertion entity.
    • AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC (Reel 053738/0558, executed 2023-10-13) transferred from Intellectual Ventures, no known products.
    • Longhorn Automotive Group LLC (Reel 054653/0256, executed 2024-03-26) is the current asserting entity against multiple major automotive companies, indicating it is a non-practicing entity.

  2. Known asserter in the chain — Present.

    • Intellectual Ventures Assets 190 LLC (Reel 053526/0424, executed 2023-09-25) is a well-known patent assertion entity.
    • Longhorn Automotive Group LLC (Current assignee, per Reel 054653/0256, executed 2024-03-26 and litigation records) is actively asserting the patent against numerous automotive manufacturers, fitting the profile of a high-frequency plaintiff.

  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.

    • MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP - (DC) appears as correspondent for the Kvaser/Timegalactic name change (Reel 019171/0118, recorded 2007-04-20) and the Xinshu/Callahan merger (Reel 034091/0716, recorded 2015-10-14).
    • WILLIAM S. MCELWEE, THE MCELWEE LAW FIRM appears as correspondent for the transfer from Intellectual Ventures to AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC (Reel 053738/0558, recorded 2023-10-18) and the subsequent transfer from AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC to LONGHORN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP LLC (Reel 054653/0256, recorded 2024-04-03). This firm handled the final two transfers leading to the current asserting entity.

  4. Cascading transfers — Present.

    • The patent transferred from Intellectual Ventures Assets 190 LLC (executed 2023-10-13, recorded 2023-10-18, Reel 053738/0558) to AI-CORE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, and then to LONGHORN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP LLC (executed 2024-03-26, recorded 2024-04-03, Reel 054653/0256). These two transfers occurred within approximately five months, with the same correspondent, William S. McElwee.

  5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present.

    • The transfer to Longhorn Automotive Group LLC was executed on 2024-03-26 (Reel 054653/0256). Numerous infringement lawsuits against automotive companies were filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas by Longhorn Automotive Group LLC in 2024, starting from May 1, 2024 (e.g., 2:24-cv-00397), and continuing through the year, including cases filed in June, July, August, and November 2024. These filings occurred within six months of the transfer, indicating the assignment was made to facilitate assertion.

  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence of any assignee in the chain undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.

  7. Privateering — Unclear. While the initial transfer was from an inventor to Kvaser Consultant AB, an operating company, the subsequent chain of transfers through multiple shell entities and a known NPE makes it difficult to ascertain if an operating company is now indirectly asserting the patent.

  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain terminates with Longhorn Automotive Group LLC, which is an active patent asserter.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The patent chain for US7987002 exhibits multiple strong signals indicative of non-practicing entity (NPE) behavior. These include the presence of a known asserter (Intellectual Ventures Assets 190 LLC on Reel 053526/0424 and the current owner Longhorn Automotive Group LLC), a series of shell-entity transfers, cascading transfers (Reel 053738/0558 and Reel 054653/0256 occurring within five months), and a pre-litigation transfer to Longhorn Automotive Group LLC (executed 2024-03-26) preceding multiple infringement lawsuits filed in 2024. The recurring correspondent, William S. McElwee, for the recent NPE-related transfers further strengthens this conclusion.

Verification: USPTO Assignment Center search for US7987002.

Generated 5/16/2026, 6:46:40 PM