Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor for US Patent 8,152,059 is John T. Sparks. No employer is listed, and the patent was initially assigned to "Individual," likely referring to the inventor himself or an entity he controlled, as indicated by the correspondent "JOHN T. SPARKS, P.C." on the initial assignment record. There are no patterns suggesting inventors departing an original assignee within 12 months of filing, as the inventor appears to have held the rights until a much later assignment.

Original assignee

The original assignee listed on the issued patent is "Individual." This typically indicates that the patent was either issued directly to the inventor or to an entity he controlled in a personal capacity. There is no public information to suggest that this "Individual" (John T. Sparks) manufactured or shipped a product embodying the claims of the patent. Their primary line of business at the time of filing is not determinable from the provided patent text or assignment records. The patent rights have since been transferred, so "Individual" is no longer the assignee.

Assignment timeline

• 2009-01-21 (executed) / recorded 2012-04-05 — Reel 027962/0268

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: JOHN T SPARKS
  • Assignee: INDIVIDUAL
  • Correspondent: JOHN T. SPARKS, P.C., 200 NORTH SHARP ST, SUITE D, CUMMING, GEORGIA 30040.
  • Context: Original assignment from the inventor, likely to himself or an entity he controlled, prior to patent issuance.

• 2025-07-16 (executed) / recorded 2025-07-22 — Reel 062638/0927

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: SPARKS, JOHN T., SR., MR., STALLARD, KEVIN W.
  • Assignee: THE ONLY CARD LLC
  • Correspondent: R. BRUCE LALOR, CPA, ESQ., THE LALOR LAW FIRM, LLC, 260 PEACHTREE ST NW, SUITE 2200, ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from the inventor(s) to a newly formed entity for potential assertion.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8152059
    2009 : Executed by John T Sparks to Individual
    2012 : Issued
    2025 : Assigned to The Only Card LLC
         : First lawsuit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The transfer of the patent to "The Only Card LLC" from the inventor(s) in 2025 [cite: 062638/0927], followed by immediate litigation, strongly indicates that The Only Card LLC is a non-practicing entity primarily engaged in patent assertion. The previous assignee "Individual" [cite: 027962/0268] also suggests a non-operating or personal holding of the patent rights before this transfer.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear/Not Present. "The Only Card LLC" is not explicitly named on the provided list of common NPEs. However, the consistent litigation activity listed by Unified Patents for this entity suggests an assertion-focused business model.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. The correspondent for the first assignment (JOHN T. SPARKS, P.C.) [cite: 027962/0268] is different from the correspondent for the second assignment (R. BRUCE LALOR, CPA, ESQ., THE LALOR LAW FIRM, LLC) [cite: 062638/0927].
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There were only two assignments from the inventor(s) over a long period, not multiple consecutive transfers in a short timeframe.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment to The Only Card LLC was executed on 2025-07-16 and recorded on 2025-07-22 [cite: 062638/0927]. The first infringement lawsuit involving this patent, The Only Card, LLC v. The Citizens Bank of Georgia, was filed on December 22, 2025, approximately five months after the assignment. This falls within the six-month window for pre-litigation transfer.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for the inventor or the initial assignee "Individual."
7. Privateering — Unclear. The assignment was from the inventor(s), not from an operating company, so there is no evidence of privateering.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain ends with The Only Card LLC, an entity actively asserting the patent, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The assignment of the patent from the inventor(s) to The Only Card LLC [cite: 062638/0927] approximately five months before the commencement of multiple infringement lawsuits strongly indicates a pre-litigation transfer aimed at patent assertion. The nature of "The Only Card LLC" as a single-purpose entity with no apparent product-shipping business further supports its classification as a shell entity for patent litigation.

For verification, see the USPTO Patent Assignment Search records for US8152059: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patents/8152059