Assignment history

Inventors

• Mark D. Hamm (FedEx Corporate Services Inc)
• James B. Greer (FedEx Corporate Services Inc)
• Daniel A. Ost (FedEx Corporate Services Inc)
• Miley E. Ainsworth (FedEx Corporate Services Inc)
• William S. Murphy (FedEx Corporate Services Inc)
• Zachary S. Perry (FedEx Corporate Services Inc)
• Ole Petter Skaaksrud (FedEx Corporate Services Inc)
• Kenneth L. Milman (FedEx Corporate Services Inc)
• Michael R. West (FedEx Corporate Services Inc)
• James Randy Jacobs (FedEx Corporate Services Inc)

Original assignee

The original assignee, FedEx Corporate Services Inc, is a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, a major logistics and package delivery company. They ship products embodying the claims in the form of their parcel tracking and logistics services. FedEx Corporate Services Inc is currently operating as a subsidiary of Federal Express Corp.

Assignment timeline

• 2014-05-20 (executed) / recorded 2014-05-20 — Reel 032231/0724

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: HAMM, MARK D., MILMAN, KENNETH L., SKAAKSRUD, OLE PETTER, GREER, JAMES B., OST, DANIEL A., PERRY, ZACHARY S., WEST, MICHAEL R., JACOBS, JAMES RANDY, MURPHY, WILLIAM S., AINSWORTH, MILEY E.
  • Assignee: FEDEX CORPORATE SERVICES, INC.
  • Correspondent: BAKER, DONALD L., FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION, LEGAL DEPT. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, 3600 HACKS CROSS ROAD, BUILDING B, 2ND FLOOR, MEMPHIS, TN 38125.
  • Context: Internal reorg (assignment from inventors to original assignee).

• 2024-07-08 (executed) / recorded 2024-07-29 — Reel 064972/0642

  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: FEDEX CORPORATE SERVICES, INC.
  • Assignee: FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: DONALD L. BAKER, FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION, LEGAL DEPT. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, 3600 HACKS CROSS ROAD, BLDG. B, 2ND FLOOR, MEMPHIS, TN 38125. This correspondent also appears on the 2014-05-20 recording.
  • Context: Internal reorg (merger of subsidiary into parent company).

• 2024-07-22 (executed) / recorded 2024-07-29 — Reel 064972/0644

  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: FEDEX CORPORATE SERVICES, INC.
  • Assignee: FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: DONALD L. BAKER, FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION, LEGAL DEPT. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, 3600 HACKS CROSS ROAD, BLDG. B, 2ND FLOOR, MEMPHIS, TN 38125. This correspondent also appears on the 2014-05-20 and 2024-07-08 recordings.
  • Context: Internal reorg (merger of subsidiary into parent company).

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8766797
    2012 : Filed by FedEx Corporate Services Inc
    2014 : Inventors assign to FedEx Corp Serv Inc
         : Issued
    2024 : FedEx Corp Serv Inc merges into FedEx Corp
         : FedEx Corp Serv Inc merges into FedEx Corp

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The transfers are between FedEx entities, which are operating companies.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Federal Express Corp is an operating company, not a known NPE.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Donald L. Baker of Federal Express Corporation, Legal Dept. Intellectual Property, appears as the correspondent for all three recorded assignments (Reel 032231/0724, Reel 064972/0642, and Reel 064972/0644).
4. Cascading transfers — not present. The transfers are separated by a significant time period (10 years) and are internal corporate actions.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. While litigation is noted, the exact timing of the first infringement suit relative to the 2014 assignment from inventors is not explicitly detailed in the provided information. However, the 2024 merger events are well after the initial litigation noted in the patent summary (Delaware District Court case filed in 2021).
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. No indication of bankruptcy proceedings for FedEx Corporate Services Inc or Federal Express Corporation.
7. Privateering — not present. The patent remains within the FedEx corporate structure.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The current assignee is an operating company, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The patent has remained within the FedEx corporate structure, first with FedEx Corporate Services Inc and then through a merger with Federal Express Corporation (Reel 064972/0642, Reel 064972/0644). Federal Express Corp is a large operating company that develops and utilizes logistics systems, which aligns with the subject matter of the patent. The presence of a repeat correspondent (Donald L. Baker, Federal Express Corporation) across all assignments further supports this being an internal corporate chain.
USPTO Assignment Center Search for US8766797