Assignment history

Inventors

• Chih-Tang Sun: Employed by CoSine Communications, Inc. at the time of assignment (April 18, 2002).
• Kiho Yum: Employed by CoSine Communications, Inc. at the time of assignment (April 18, 2002).
• Abraham R. Matthews: Employed by CoSine Communications, Inc. at the time of assignment (April 18, 2002).

All three inventors assigned their rights to CoSine Communications, Inc. on April 18, 2002, approximately seven months after the patent's filing date of September 13, 2001. This is a common pattern for employee-inventors.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent (US8250357B2) is Fortinet Inc.

Fortinet Inc. is a leading global provider of cybersecurity solutions, including firewalls, VPNs, and other network security products. The company ships a wide range of products embodying the claims, as its core business aligns directly with the patent's subject matter of securing traffic over a network, virtual private networks, and firewall services. Fortinet is an active, operating public company.

Assignment timeline

• 2002-04-18 (executed) / recorded 2002-04-23 — Reel 011030/0858

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ABRAHAM R MATTHEWS
  • Assignee: COSINE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
  • Correspondent: BLAKELY, SOKOLOFF, TAYLOR & ZAFMAN, LLP, 12400 WILSHIRE BLVD, 7TH FLOOR, LOS ANGELES, CA 90025-1026
  • Context: Inventor assignment to employer.

• 2002-04-18 (executed) / recorded 2002-04-23 — Reel 011030/0854

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: CHIH-TANG SUN
  • Assignee: COSINE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
  • Correspondent: BLAKELY, SOKOLOFF, TAYLOR & ZAFMAN, LLP, 12400 WILSHIRE BLVD, 7TH FLOOR, LOS ANGELES, CA 90025-1026
  • Context: Inventor assignment to employer.

• 2002-04-18 (executed) / recorded 2002-04-23 — Reel 011030/0850

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: KIHO YUM
  • Assignee: COSINE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
  • Correspondent: BLAKELY, SOKOLOFF, TAYLOR & ZAFMAN, LLP, 12400 WILSHIRE BLVD, 7TH FLOOR, LOS ANGELES, CA 90025-1026
  • Context: Inventor assignment to employer.

• 2006-07-13 (executed) / recorded 2006-07-20 — Reel 013444/0831

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: COSINE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
  • Assignee: FORTINET, INC.
  • Correspondent: BEYER WEAVER & THOMAS, LLP, POST OFFICE BOX 778, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94704
  • Context: Acquisition of CoSine Communications, Inc. by Fortinet, Inc.

• 2025-11-12 (executed) / recorded 2025-11-19 — Reel 059439/0430

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: FORTINET, INC.
  • Assignee: PALISADE TECHNOLOGIES, LLP
  • Correspondent: SCHMEISER, OLSEN & WATTS LLP, 18 E. ARIZONA, SUITE 101, MCKINNEY, TX 75069. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer from an operating company to a licensing entity.

• 2025-11-12 (executed) / recorded 2025-11-19 — Reel 059439/0434

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: PALISADE TECHNOLOGIES, LLP
  • Assignee: ATHENA SECURITY, LLP
  • Correspondent: SCHMEISER, OLSEN & WATTS LLP, 18 E. ARIZONA, SUITE 101, MCKINNEY, TX 75069. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer between licensing entities.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8250357
    2001 : Filed by Fortinet Inc inventors
    2002 : Inventors assign to CoSine Comm
    2006 : CoSine assigns to Fortinet Inc
    2012 : Patent issued
    2025 : Fortinet assigns to Palisade Tech
         : Palisade Tech assigns to Athena Security
    2026 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The transfer from operating company Fortinet Inc. to Palisade Technologies, LLP (Reel 059439/0430) and subsequently to Athena Security, LLP (Reel 059439/0434) on 2025-11-19 suggests a move to licensing-focused entities. Both "LLP" suffixes and the common correspondent's address in McKinney, TX, are typical indicators. Athena Security LLP is also listed as the plaintiff in 2026 litigation.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Athena Security LLP is identified as the current assignee and plaintiff in ongoing litigation (e.g., Texas Western District Court case 7:26-cv-00158). Athena Security LLP is a known patent assertion entity.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. The law firm SCHMEISER, OLSEN & WATTS LLP, with an address in McKinney, TX, served as the correspondent for both the assignment from Fortinet, Inc. to Palisade Technologies, LLP (Reel 059439/0430) and from Palisade Technologies, LLP to Athena Security, LLP (Reel 059439/0434). This firm is frequently associated with patent assertion entities.
4. Cascading transfers — Present. Fortinet, Inc. assigned the patent to Palisade Technologies, LLP, and Palisade Technologies, LLP subsequently assigned it to Athena Security, LLP. Both assignments were executed on 2025-11-12 and recorded on 2025-11-19 (Reel 059439/0430 and Reel 059439/0434). These rapid, back-to-back transfers indicate a coordinated move into a licensing/assertion vehicle.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignments to Palisade Technologies, LLP and Athena Security, LLP were recorded on 2025-11-19. Litigation involving this patent, with Athena Security LLP as plaintiff, began in 2026 (e.g., cases 7:26-cv-00158 and 7:26-cv-00061). This places the transfers less than six months before the first reported infringement suits, strongly suggesting the transfers were in preparation for assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence suggests a bankruptcy-driven sale for any of the operating company assignors (CoSine Communications, Inc. or Fortinet, Inc.).
7. Privateering — Unclear. While the patent was transferred from an operating company (Fortinet) to an NPE (Athena Security), further evidence (e.g., specific contractual arrangements, SEC filings, or public reports) would be needed to confirm if Fortinet retained a financial interest or directed the assertion campaign.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently held by Athena Security, LLP, a known asserter, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The assignment chain for US8250357 demonstrates strong indicators of patent assertion activity. The cascading transfers from the operating company Fortinet Inc. to Palisade Technologies, LLP, and then to Athena Security, LLP, all executed on 2025-11-12 and recorded on 2025-11-19 (Reel 059439/0430, Reel 059439/0434), occurred just months before Athena Security LLP initiated infringement litigation in 2026. The consistent use of the same correspondent law firm, Schmeiser, Olsen & Watts LLP, for these recent transfers further reinforces the pattern of a coordinated assertion strategy.

USPTO Assignment Center Search for US8250357