Assignment history

Inventors

• Elliot H. Drucker: At the time of the 2012 patent filing, I could not determine a specific employer for Elliot H. Drucker from publicly available information. Research indicates that inventors who assign patents to Empire Technology Development LLC are typically independent or from smaller research firms, rather than being employees of Empire itself. This pattern is consistent with Empire's business model of acquiring and monetizing externally developed inventions.

Original assignee

The original assignee is Empire Technology Development LLC. This entity is not an operating company and does not appear to have ever shipped a product embodying the patent claims. Empire Technology Development is a well-known patent monetization firm, functioning as a subsidiary of Allied Inventors Management, LLC (AIM). RPX and other industry sources characterize Empire as a prolific patent plaintiff and a non-practicing entity (NPE) that acquires patents from inventors and other entities for the purpose of assertion and licensing. It has initiated numerous litigation campaigns against a wide range of technology companies.

Assignment timeline

• 2012-05-09 (executed) / recorded 2012-05-09 — Reel 028169/0770

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST
  • Assignor: DRUCKER, ELLIOTT H.
  • Assignee: EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, LLC
  • Correspondent: JENSEN & PUNTIGAM, P.S., 2033 6TH AVE, STE 1020, SEATTLE, WA, 98121-2527
  • Context: This is the initial assignment from the inventor to the original assignee, Empire Technology Development, recorded on the same day the patent application was filed.

• 2012-05-09 (executed) / recorded 2012-10-23 — Reel 029280/0173

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST
  • Assignor: DRUCKER, ELLIOT H.
  • Assignee: EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC
  • Correspondent: JENSEN & PUNTIGAM, P.S., 2033 6TH AVE, STE 1020, SEATTLE, WA, 98121-2527
  • Context: A confirmatory assignment of the same rights, likely to correct a procedural issue or for record-keeping clarity. The correspondent is the same.

• 2019-01-29 (executed) / recorded 2019-01-29 — Reel 049301/0178

  • Conveyance: SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC
  • Assignee: CRESTLINE DIRECT FINANCE, L.P.
  • Correspondent: SCOTT G. DRUCKER, ZEKELMAN INDUSTRIES, INC., 227 W. MONROE STREET, SUITE 2600, CHICAGO, IL, 60606
  • Context: Empire took out a loan, pledging this patent and others as collateral to Crestline Direct Finance, a credit and alternative investment manager.

• 2023-11-29 (executed) / recorded 2023-11-29 — Reel 067971/0726

  • Conveyance: RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: CRESTLINE DIRECT FINANCE, L.P.
  • Assignee: EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC
  • Correspondent: Perkins Coie LLP, P.O. Box 2608, Seattle, WA 98111
  • Context: Crestline released its security interest, returning full and unencumbered title for this patent to Empire Technology Development, likely after the debt was satisfied.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8730833
    2012 : Filed and assigned to Empire Technology
    2014 : Patent Issued
    2019 : Security interest granted to Crestline
    2023 : Security interest released

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The initial transfer was from an individual inventor directly to Empire Technology Development LLC, an entity that does not produce products. This fits the pattern of an operating inventor transferring a patent to a dedicated licensing/assertion entity. RPX and other sources confirm Empire's status as an NPE.

2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Empire Technology Development LLC is a well-documented patent asserter and a subsidiary of Allied Inventors Management (AIM), which itself was reportedly formed to monetize patents from Intellectual Ventures. Empire has filed numerous lawsuits and secured verdicts, such as a $12.5M verdict against Samsung.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. Different correspondents were used for the initial assignment, the security agreement, and the release. This is not unusual given the different nature of the transactions (patent prosecution vs. corporate finance).

4. Cascading transfers — not present. The patent has remained with the original assignee, Empire, with only a temporary security interest recorded and released. There is no evidence of rapid transfers between shell LLCs.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The patent has not been named in any litigation to date, and thus no pre-litigation transfer has occurred.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication that any transfer was the result of a bankruptcy proceeding.

7. Privateering — not present. The patent originated with an individual inventor, not an operating company offloading it to an NPE for assertion against its competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent remains with a known asserter and has not been acquired by a defensive aggregator like RPX or LOT Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The original and current assignee, Empire Technology Development LLC, is a well-known and prolific patent monetization entity with no evidence of producing products. It is identified as an NPE by multiple industry sources and has a documented history of litigation, including against major technology companies. The patent was acquired directly from the inventor (Reel 028169/0770), a classic model for patent assertion entities. This direct evidence of the assignee's business model provides high confidence in an NPE classification.

A full list of recorded assignments can be viewed at the USPTO Patent Assignment Search page by searching for patent number 8730833.