Assignment history

Inventors

• James A. Roskind: At the time of filing, Mr. Roskind was known for his work on the design of the JavaScript language while at Netscape and was active in various technology startups.
• Aaron T. Emigh: Mr. Emigh was the co-founder and CTO of Radix Labs, the entity related to the original assignee.

There are no unusual patterns, such as mass departures, noted in their employment history around the time of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee of record was Radix Holdings LLC. This entity appears to be the intellectual property holding company associated with Radix Labs, Inc., a startup co-founded by inventor Aaron Emigh. Radix Labs focused on developing security and anti-contagion software. It is unclear if Radix Labs ever shipped a commercial product embodying the specific claims of this patent before it ceased operations. The company appears to be dissolved, with its patents being sold off starting around 2017.

Assignment timeline

A search of the USPTO Patent Assignment Database for US 8,234,705 reveals the following chain of ownership.

• 2009-10-16 (executed) / recorded 2009-11-20 — Reel 023610/0556

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: AARON T. EMIGH, RADIX LABS, LLC, JAMES A. ROSKIND
  • Assignee: RADIX HOLDINGS, LLC
  • Correspondent: LAW OFFICE OF ROBERT C. HOHL, CHANTILLY, VA 20151
  • Context: Internal transfer consolidating the invention from the individual inventors and the operating company to a dedicated holding company.

• 2017-05-09 (executed) / recorded 2017-05-09 — Reel 041280/0172

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: RADIX HOLDINGS, LLC
  • Assignee: SPECTRUM PATENTS, INC.
  • Correspondent: WILLIAM W. L. CHEN, LAW OFFICES OF WILLIAM W. L. CHEN, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017
  • Context: Sale of the patent from the original inventor-controlled entity to a third party, Spectrum Patents, Inc.

• 2017-10-13 (executed) / recorded 2017-10-13 — Reel 042571/0879

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: SPECTRUM PATENTS, INC.
  • Assignee: NETWORK SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
  • Correspondent: WILLIAM W. L. CHEN, LAW OFFICES OF WILLIAM W. L. CHEN, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017. This is the same correspondent as the previous transfer.
  • Context: Transfer from one holding company to another, likely an internal reorganization or sale between related entities given the shared correspondent.

• 2020-01-13 (executed) / recorded 2020-01-13 — Reel 051059/0572

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: NETWORK SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
  • Assignee: K.MIZRA LLC
  • Correspondent: J. Michael Martinez de Andino, ANDINO REYNAL & SCHOCH, CORAL GABLES, FL 33134
  • Context: Sale of the patent to K. Mizra LLC, an entity that has since asserted the patent in litigation.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8234705
    2005 : Application filed
    2009 : Assigned to Radix Holdings LLC
    2012 : Patent Issued
    2017 : Sold to Spectrum Patents Inc
         : Transferred to Network Security Tech LLC
    2020 : Sold to K Mizra LLC
    2021 : First infringement suits filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred from Radix Holdings LLC (associated with the inventors) to Spectrum Patents, Inc., then to Network Security Technologies, LLC, and finally to K. Mizra LLC. These latter three entities have no public evidence of product development and appear to be special-purpose vehicles for holding and asserting patents. K. Mizra LLC is a Texas LLC with a listed address corresponding to a registered agent service. The transfers are documented in Reels 041280/0172, 042571/0879, and 051059/0572.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. The current assignee, K. Mizra LLC, is a known patent asserter. Unified Patents lists K. Mizra LLC as a frequent plaintiff, noting its acquisition of patents from Network Security Technologies, LLC and subsequent litigation campaigns. Litigation records confirm K. Mizra LLC has filed suits asserting this patent (e.g., K. Mizra LLC v. ESET, LLC, Case 6:20-cv-01031, W.D. Tex.).

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. The attorney William W. L. Chen acted as the correspondent for both the transfer to Spectrum Patents, Inc. (Reel 041280/0172, dated 2017-05-09) and the subsequent transfer from Spectrum Patents, Inc. to Network Security Technologies, LLC (Reel 042571/0879, dated 2017-10-13). This recurrence for two consecutive transfers involving different LLCs is a strong indicator of a coordinated campaign.

4. Cascading transfers — Present. The patent was transferred from Spectrum Patents, Inc. to Network Security Technologies, LLC in October 2017, just five months after Spectrum acquired it in May 2017. While the subsequent transfer to K. Mizra LLC was just over two years later (January 2020), the initial rapid-fire transfer between two shell entities with the same correspondent is a positive signal.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment to the current owner and plaintiff, K. Mizra LLC, was executed and recorded on January 13, 2020 (Reel 051059/0572). The first infringement suits asserting this patent were filed in late 2020 and early 2021, well within a year of this final transfer, indicating the patent was acquired for the purpose of assertion.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no evidence that Radix Holdings LLC or Radix Labs, Inc. underwent formal bankruptcy proceedings.

7. Privateering — Not present. There is no evidence to suggest that the inventors or the original assignee are directing the assertion campaign by K. Mizra LLC against their competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. No defensive aggregators appear in the ownership chain.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The ownership chain of US 8,234,705 displays multiple strong signals of non-practicing entity activity. The patent was moved from its original inventor-affiliated owner through a cascade of shell entities (Reels 041280/0172, 042571/0879), including two transfers handled by the same correspondent attorney. The patent's current owner, K. Mizra LLC, is a known high-frequency plaintiff per Unified Patents and began its assertion campaign (Reel 051059/0572) shortly after acquiring the patent.

Verification Link: USPTO Patent Assignment Search for US 8234705