Assignment history

Inventors

• Marcos C. Tzannes (Aware Inc)
• Michael Lund (Aware Inc)

All inventors appear to have remained with Aware Inc. or its successor entities for a reasonable period following the priority date, based on the information available.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent US8276048B2 is Aware Inc..

Aware Inc. (now Aware, Inc.) is an operating company primarily in the business of biometrics software and services. While they originally developed technologies related to DSL and telecommunications (as indicated by the patent's subject matter), their current primary line of business has shifted. It is unclear from the provided text whether Aware Inc. directly shipped products embodying the claims of US8276048 at the time of its filing or issuance. Aware, Inc. is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2012-10-18 (executed) / recorded 2012-10-18 — Reel 028989/0270
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Aware, Inc.
  • Assignee: TQ Delta, LLC
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL J. PATTEN, PATTEN, TEMPLETON, AND CANNON, P.C., 13200 HARON RD, SUITE C, WALDORF, MARYLAND UNITED STATES 20601
  • Context: Transfer from original operating company to an entity that appears to be a patent assertion entity.
• 2018-10-10 (executed) / recorded 2018-10-10 — Reel 045814/0971
  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: TQ Delta, LLC
  • Assignee: DLI LENDING AGENT, LLC
  • Correspondent: ERIC R. WEINER, COVINGTON & BURLING LLP, ONE CITYCENTER, 850 TENTH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA UNITED STATES 20001
  • Context: Securitization of intellectual property.
• 2021-01-04 (executed) / recorded 2021-01-04 — Reel 051059/0187
  • Conveyance: Amended and Restated Intellectual Property Security Agreement
  • Assignor: TQ Delta LLC
  • Assignee: ALTER DOMUS (US) LLC
  • Correspondent: ERIC R. WEINER, COVINGTON & BURLING LLP, ONE CITYCENTER, 850 TENTH STREET NW, WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA UNITED STATES 20001
  • Context: Amendment/restatement of a prior security agreement; the correspondent, Eric R. Weiner of Covington & Burling LLP, recurs in this chain.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8276048
    2010 : Filed by Aware Inc
    2012 : Issued
         : Assigned to TQ Delta LLC
    2018 : Security Interest to DLI Lending Agent
    2021 : Amended Security to Alter Domus LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The transfer from Aware, Inc. to TQ Delta, LLC on 2012-10-18 (Reel 028989/0270) is a strong signal. TQ Delta, LLC has been identified in numerous patent litigations as a non-practicing entity. While the specific address is not provided in the snippet, TQ Delta, LLC's business model is generally associated with licensing and assertion rather than product sales.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. TQ Delta, LLC is a known patent asserter (NPE).
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Eric R. Weiner of Covington & Burling LLP appears as the correspondent for both the 2018-10-10 security interest (Reel 045814/0971) and the 2021-01-04 amended security agreement (Reel 051059/0187). This recurrence indicates a consistent legal representative for the assignee(s) in the assertion chain.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is a single assignment to TQ Delta, LLC, followed by security interests, rather than multiple consecutive assignments of the patent itself.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The first assignment to TQ Delta, LLC was recorded on 2012-10-18. While specific filing dates for all lawsuits are not provided, some cases listed in the litigation summary date back to 2013 and 2014 (e.g., 1:13-cv-01835, 1:13-cv-02013, 1:14-cv-00954). Without exact litigation filing dates relative to the assignment, it's unclear if the transfer occurred within 6 months of the first suit.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. The transfer from Aware, Inc. to TQ Delta, LLC does not appear to be a result of a bankruptcy proceeding of Aware, Inc.
7. Privateering — unclear. While TQ Delta, LLC asserts patents, there is no direct evidence in the provided text to suggest that Aware, Inc. transferred the patent to TQ Delta, LLC specifically to assert it against Aware's competitors on Aware's behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The transfer of the patent from an operating company (Aware, Inc.) to TQ Delta, LLC (Reel 028989/0270, recorded 2012-10-18), a well-known patent assertion entity, is a strong indicator. Furthermore, the recurrence of the same correspondent attorney, Eric R. Weiner of Covington & Burling LLP, on subsequent security agreements (Reel 045814/0971 on 2018-10-10 and Reel 051059/0187 on 2021-01-04) suggests a consistent legal strategy associated with a patent assertion model.

Verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/