Assignment history

Inventors

• Kenneth L. Stanwood (Employer not determinable from patent text)
• James F. Mollenauer (Employer not determinable from patent text)
• Israel Jay Klein (Employer not determinable from patent text)
• Sheldon L. Gilbert (Employer not determinable from patent text)

The patent text does not explicitly state the employers of the inventors at the time of filing. However, the original assignee is WiLAN Inc, and a prior assignment shows the patent originated from Ensemble Communications, Inc. (See assignment timeline below).

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is WiLAN Inc.

WiLAN Inc. (now a subsidiary of Quarterhill Inc.) is primarily engaged in patent licensing and intellectual property management, rather than shipping products directly. While they have historically licensed technologies for wireless communication, there is no direct evidence in the patent text or general knowledge that WiLAN Inc. itself shipped products embodying the claims of US8315640.

WiLAN Inc. is currently an operating subsidiary of Quarterhill Inc.

Assignment timeline

• 2010-01-07 (executed) / recorded 2010-01-20 — Reel 024467/0635

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: ENSEMBLE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
  • Assignee: WI-LAN, INC.
  • Correspondent: WI-LAN INC., 301 MOODIE DRIVE, SUITE 400, OTTAWA, ONTARIO K2H 9C4, CANADA
  • Context: Transfer of intellectual property from the original development company to a licensing firm.

• 2017-06-20 (executed) / recorded 2017-06-28 — Reel 039644/0744

  • Conveyance: MERGER AND CHANGE OF NAME
  • Assignor: WI-LAN INC.
  • Assignee: QUARTERHILL INC.
  • Correspondent: BORDEN LADNER GERVAIS LLP, 1000 DE LA GAUCHETIERE STREET WEST, SUITE 900, MONTREAL, QUEBEC H3B 5H4, CANADA. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Corporate reorganization where Wi-LAN Inc. merged and changed its name to Quarterhill Inc.

• 2017-07-12 (executed) / recorded 2017-07-28 — Reel 039988/0925

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: QUARTERHILL INC.
  • Assignee: WI-LAN INC.
  • Correspondent: BORDEN LADNER GERVAIS LLP, 1000 DE LA GAUCHETIERE STREET WEST, SUITE 900, MONTREAL, QUEBEC H3B 5H4, CANADA. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal transfer of intellectual property from Quarterhill Inc. back to Wi-LAN Inc. (presumably as a subsidiary).

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8315640
    1999 : Priority date
    2009 : Application filed by WiLAN Inc
    2010 : Assigned from Ensemble to Wi-LAN
    2012 : Patent issued
    2017 : Wi-LAN merged to Quarterhill Inc
         : Assigned from Quarterhill to Wi-LAN
    2019 : Anticipated expiration

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — unclear. The initial transfer from Ensemble Communications, Inc. to Wi-LAN, Inc. (Reel 024467/0635, executed 2010-01-07) moved the patent to Wi-LAN, a company primarily focused on licensing. While Wi-LAN is a known licensing entity, it's not strictly a "shell" in the traditional sense, as it's a publicly traded company. The later transfers between Quarterhill Inc. and Wi-LAN Inc. (Reel 039644/0744 executed 2017-06-20 and Reel 039988/0925 executed 2017-07-12) appear to be internal corporate reorganizations.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Wi-LAN Inc. is explicitly mentioned in the prompt as a known asserter (NPE). Wi-LAN Inc. acquired the patent from Ensemble Communications, Inc. (Reel 024467/0635, executed 2010-01-07) and has been the assignee during periods of significant litigation activity for this patent family.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. BORDEN LADNER GERVAIS LLP (1000 DE LA GAUCHETIERE STREET WEST, SUITE 900, MONTREAL, QUEBEC H3B 5H4, CANADA) appears as the correspondent for both the 2017 merger/change of name (Reel 039644/0744, executed 2017-06-20) and the subsequent assignment back to Wi-LAN Inc. (Reel 039988/0925, executed 2017-07-12).
4. Cascading transfers — not present. The transfers occur over several years (2010, 2017). The two 2017 transfers happened within a short period, but they are clearly marked as a merger/change of name and a subsequent internal assignment, not a chain of transfers through multiple distinct LLCs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. While the patent family has litigation, the specific date of the first infringement suit naming this patent is not immediately available. The initial assignment to Wi-LAN (2010-01-07) happened before the patent was granted (2012-11-20). The earliest listed litigation for the family on Google Patents is a US case filed in Florida Southern District Court for 1:12-cv-24320. This case would have been filed in 2012, after the 2010 assignment to Wi-LAN but around the time of the patent grant. Without the exact filing date of the first suit for this specific patent, it's hard to confirm if the 2010 transfer was "pre-litigation" for this patent. However, Wi-LAN is known for asserting patents.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for Ensemble Communications, Inc. or Wi-LAN Inc. within the assignment records or publicly available information related to the patent.
7. Privateering — unclear. While Wi-LAN Inc. acts as a licensing entity, it's not clear from the assignment records whether Ensemble Communications, Inc. (the original source) engaged Wi-LAN to assert patents on its behalf against competitors, or if it was a straightforward sale of IP.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent chain does not terminate at any known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The high confidence verdict is driven by Wi-LAN Inc., a known patent asserter, appearing as the assignee (Reel 024467/0635, executed 2010-01-07). Additionally, the consistent use of the same correspondent firm, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, for the 2017 corporate reorganization and subsequent internal assignment (Reel 039644/0744 executed 2017-06-20 and Reel 039988/0925 executed 2017-07-12), aligns with patterns observed in entities focused on IP management and assertion. The extensive litigation history associated with this patent family further supports this conclusion.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ (search for patent 8315640)