Assignment history

Inventors

• Eileen Zhou
• Roger Liu
• Vijoy Choyi
• Moshe Itah
• John Z. Yu

Employer at the time of filing: Not determinable from the provided patent text.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent is Brixham Solutions Ltd..
Their primary line of business: Not explicitly stated in the patent document. Based on the patent's subject matter (Network Management System), their business likely involved developing and providing network management solutions.
Current status: Acquired and subsequently reassigned several times, most recently to K.MIZRA LLC.

Assignment timeline

• 2004-03-01 to 2004-03-03 (executed) / recorded 2004-03-05 — Reel 014401/0969

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: YU, JOHN Z., CHOYI, VIJOY, ITAH, MOSHE, LIU, ROGER, ZHOU, EILEEN (Inventors)
  • Assignee: HAMMERHEAD SYSTEMS, CALIFORNIA
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer from inventors to an operating company.

• 2010-01-08 (executed) / recorded 2010-01-19 — Reel 023810/0916

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HAMMERHEAD SYSTEMS, INC.
  • Assignee: BRIXHAM SOLUTIONS LTD., VIRGIN ISLANDS, BRITISH
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer from an operating company to what appears to be a holding company.

• 2017-06-27 (executed) / recorded 2017-08-16 — Reel 043312/0218

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BRIXHAM SOLUTIONS LTD.
  • Assignee: GLOBAL INNOVATION AGGREGATORS LLC., CALIFORNIA
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer to a patent aggregation entity.

• 2019-12-24 (executed) / recorded 2020-01-13 — Reel 051579/0773

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: GLOBAL INNOVATION AGGREGATORS, LLC
  • Assignee: K.MIZRA LLC, CALIFORNIA
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer to a new entity, potentially for further assertion or management.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8782282
    2003 : Application filed
    2004 : Assigned to Hammerhead Systems
    2010 : Assigned to Brixham Solutions
    2014 : Patent granted
    2017 : Assigned to Global Innovation Aggregators
    2020 : Assigned to K.Mizra LLC
    2025 : IPR filed by Ciena Corporation

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.

   • Brixham Solutions Ltd. (Assignee on 2010-01-08 / 2010-01-19, Reel 023810/0916) is listed as being in "VIRGIN ISLANDS, BRITISH," which can be a red flag for shell entities.
   • GLOBAL INNOVATION AGGREGATORS LLC. (Assignee on 2017-06-27 / 2017-08-16, Reel 043312/0218) with "AGGREGATORS" in its name strongly suggests a patent aggregation or licensing entity.
   • K.MIZRA LLC (Assignee on 2019-12-24 / 2020-01-13, Reel 051579/0773) is an LLC, which, without further information on product sales, often indicates a licensing-focused entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. While Global Innovation Aggregators LLC and K.Mizra LLC have names suggestive of assertion, they are not explicitly listed on the provided public NPE lists without further research. However, the patent family has litigation, and a PTAB case IPR2025-01362 was filed by "Unified Patents PTAB Data". Unified Patents is an organization that works against NPEs, indicating that the current owner is likely perceived as an NPE.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. The provided text from Google Patents does not include correspondent information for the assignments. Therefore, it's not possible to determine if there's a repeat correspondent.

4. Cascading transfers — Present. The patent was transferred from Brixham Solutions Ltd. to Global Innovation Aggregators LLC (2017-06-27 / 2017-08-16) and then to K.Mizra LLC (2019-12-24 / 2020-01-13) within a period of less than 24 months between the last two transfers, demonstrating a relatively rapid succession of ownership changes among entities with suggestive names.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. The exact dates of the first infringement suits are not precisely provided in relation to the assignment dates. The Google Patents legal events section shows "First worldwide family litigation filed" but without a specific date. US cases were filed in Texas Western District Court (1:26-cv-00316) and Georgia Northern District Court (1:24-cv-05442), but these are after the most recent assignment.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication of any of the assignors filing for bankruptcy in the provided information.

7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no information in the provided text to suggest privateering activities.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not end at any known defensive aggregators. Instead, it appears to lead to an entity involved in assertion, given the mentioned litigation. The IPR filed by Ciena Corporation, as well as the listing of "Unified Patents PTAB Data" as the petitioner for IPR2025-01362, indicates that this patent is being asserted.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The presence of multiple shell-entity transfers (Brixham Solutions Ltd. to Global Innovation Aggregators LLC to K.Mizra LLC) and cascading transfers within a short timeframe strongly suggest an NPE pattern. Furthermore, the patent is currently involved in litigation, including an IPR filed by Unified Patents, which generally targets asserted patents, further indicating an NPE. The complete assignment record can be verified at the USPTO Assignment Center by searching for patent number 8782282.