Assignment history

Inventors

Richard D. Haney is the sole named inventor of US Patent 8712441. At the time of filing, he was a founder of XONE Inc..

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent, US8712441B2, is XONE Inc. XONE Inc. develops and offers technology that enables location sharing and mapping, including client/server solutions and carrier-class solutions. Their products address technological problems associated with location sharing and mapping. They have developed numerous patents and core IP foundational to the sharing economy. XONE Inc. appears to be an operating company, still in business as of the current date, with a focus on location-based services and mobile data solutions.

Assignment timeline

There are no recorded assignments for US Patent 8712441 on the USPTO Assignment Center. The current assignee, Piney Woods Mobility LLC, is listed on Google Patents and in litigation records as the assignee, implying an unrecorded or privately recorded transfer from XONE Inc. to Piney Woods Mobility LLC, or an assignment was recorded under the application number which is not surfaced by a patent number search.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8712441
    2013 : Filed by XONE Inc
    2014 : Issued
    2025 : Assigned to Piney Woods Mobility LLC
    2026 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The patent was assigned to Piney Woods Mobility LLC in November 2025. Piney Woods Mobility LLC has filed multiple patent infringement lawsuits in early 2026 against major companies like AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Samsung, and Apple, alleging infringement related to location-sharing services. The nature of these lawsuits, targeting established operating companies for alleged infringement of location-sharing patents, coupled with the name "Mobility LLC," suggests that Piney Woods Mobility LLC is a licensing-only entity that does not appear to ship products embodying the claims. The firm Garteiser Honea, PLLC, is representing Piney Woods Mobility LLC in these litigations.

2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Piney Woods Mobility LLC is identified as a "frequent filer" NPE in February 2026 retail patent litigation reports. They have initiated multiple lawsuits against several large technology and telecommunications companies in the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas in early 2026.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. Without access to the USPTO Assignment Center records for the assignment to Piney Woods Mobility LLC, it is not possible to determine if there is a repeat correspondent. However, Christopher A. Honea and Randall T. Garteiser of Garteiser Honea, PLLC, are listed as representing Piney Woods Mobility LLC in multiple patent infringement cases in 2026.

4. Cascading transfers — unclear. Only one assignment (from XONE Inc. to Piney Woods Mobility LLC) is known at this time. Therefore, it's unclear if there have been cascading transfers.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The patent was assigned to Piney Woods Mobility LLC on November 24, 2025, according to Google Patents. Litigation naming this patent was filed by Piney Woods Mobility LLC as early as February 13, 2026, and February 26, 2026. This falls within the 6-month window prior to the first infringement suits, indicating a pre-litigation transfer.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication that XONE Inc. filed for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — unclear. While XONE Inc. is an operating company, the nature of its relationship with Piney Woods Mobility LLC is not fully clear from the available data. However, given that Piney Woods Mobility LLC is a known asserter, it is possible this is a privateering arrangement.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with Piney Woods Mobility LLC, which is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The presence of multiple strong signals supports this verdict. The transfer to Piney Woods Mobility LLC on November 24, 2025, immediately preceded a wave of infringement lawsuits filed in February 2026, indicating a pre-litigation transfer. Piney Woods Mobility LLC is a known patent asserter, and its business model, as indicated by the nature of its lawsuits, appears to be licensing and assertion rather than product development, suggesting it is a shell entity.

To verify the assignment records, the USPTO Assignment Center can be accessed at https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ or https://assignment.uspto.gov/patent/index.html.