Assignment history

Inventors

• Jesse C. Bunch: Employer not determinable from the provided patent text.

Original assignee

The original assignee was "Individual," referring to the inventor Jesse C. Bunch. It is not determinable from the provided text whether they shipped a product embodying the claims or their primary line of business. Their current status is not determinable as an individual.

Assignment timeline

• 2006-06-09 (executed) / recorded 2006-06-09 — Reel 018042/0698

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Bunch, Jesse C.
  • Assignee: Silver Spring Systems LLC
  • Correspondent: Scott W. Johnson, Johnson & Stoel P.C., 1795 Willamette Falls Dr. Suite 200, West Linn, OR 97068.
  • Context: Transfer from individual inventor to an entity.

• 2013-05-21 (executed) / recorded 2013-05-28 — Reel 030119/0212

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Silver Spring Systems LLC
  • Assignee: Bunch, Jesse C.
  • Correspondent: Jesse C. Bunch, PO Box 297, Silver Spring, MD 20918.
  • Context: Reassignment back to the individual inventor.

• 2013-08-12 (executed) / recorded 2013-09-03 — Reel 030588/0268

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Bunch, Jesse C.
  • Assignee: Ovyrvu LLC
  • Correspondent: Timothy J. Kelly, 3030 Hartley Rd. Suite 150, Jacksonville, FL 32257.
  • Context: Transfer from individual inventor to an LLC.

• 2024-06-18 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-25 — Reel 060938/0340

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Ovyrvu LLC
  • Assignee: Pointwise Ventures LLC
  • Correspondent: John R. Vane, 3030 Hartley Rd. Suite 150, Jacksonville, FL 32257. John R. Vane appears as correspondent in another entry in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer between LLCs.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8471812
    2006 : Assigned to Silver Spring Systems LLC
    2013 : Assigned back to Jesse C. Bunch
         : Assigned to Ovyrvu LLC
    2024 : Assigned to Pointwise Ventures LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present.

   • 2013-08-12 (executed) / recorded 2013-09-03 — Reel 030588/0268: Transfer to "Ovyrvu LLC".
   • 2024-06-18 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-25 — Reel 060938/0340: Transfer to "Pointwise Ventures LLC". The name "Ventures LLC" suggests a licensing-focused entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear. While the provided text notes litigation, it does not explicitly state if any of the assignees are "known asserters" based on public NPE lists like Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, etc.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present.

   • John R. Vane appears as correspondent on Reel 060938/0340. The same address (3030 Hartley Rd. Suite 150, Jacksonville, FL 32257) is associated with Timothy J. Kelly on Reel 030588/0268. This suggests a recurring legal representative or firm handling transfers between the LLCs.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are no multiple consecutive assignments through chained LLCs within a short period (<24 months) that share correspondents or principals.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The current patent text indicates litigation, but the exact dates of the first infringement suits are not provided, preventing a definitive comparison with assignment dates.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of the original assignee or any subsequent assignors filing for bankruptcy and the patent being sold in those proceedings.

7. Privateering — unclear. There is no information to suggest an operating company transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence

This verdict is based on the presence of shell-entity transfers to LLCs like "Ovyrvu LLC" and "Pointwise Ventures LLC" (Reel 030588/0268 and Reel 060938/0340, respectively) and the recurrence of a correspondent or associated firm across these transfers, suggesting a pattern of intellectual property management consistent with NPEs. Further investigation into the business activities of these LLCs and the full scope of the correspondent's patent work would solidify this conclusion.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/