Assignment history

Inventors

• Aaron H Bridges
• Jason S Day
• Joshua D Blank
• Donald S Spear

Their employer at the time of filing is not explicitly stated in the provided text. The original assignee is listed as "Individual," which suggests the inventors may have held the patent rights initially, or a corporate employer was not immediately identified in the provided details.

Original assignee

The original assignee is listed as "Individual" (from the Google Patents "Original Assignee" field). This typically means the patent was initially assigned to the inventors personally, rather than a corporate entity at the time of filing. The provided information does not specify if the "Individual" shipped a product embodying the claims, their primary line of business, or their current status. However, based on the assignment timeline, the patent was assigned to Blue Tech, LLC on the same day it was filed.

Assignment timeline

• 2011-06-09 (executed) / recorded 2011-06-09 — Reel 026778/0500 (from Google Patents)

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BLANK, JOSHUA D., BRIDGES, AARON H., DAY, JASON S., SPEAR, DONALD S.
  • Assignee: Blue Tech, LLC
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer from inventors to a new entity.

• 2014-01-22 (executed) / recorded 2014-01-22 — Reel 031649/0517 (from Google Patents)

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BLUE TECH LLC
  • Assignee: OPENSESAME INC.
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Acquisition of patent rights.

• 2018-06-12 (executed) / recorded 2018-06-12 — Reel 043236/0074 (from Google Patents)

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: OPENSESAME INC.
  • Assignee: SILICON VALLEY BANK
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Patent used as collateral for a loan.

• 2018-06-14 (executed) / recorded 2018-06-14 — Reel 043282/0252 (from Google Patents)

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: OPENSESAME INC.
  • Assignee: PIVOTAL CAPITAL FUND, LP
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Patent used as collateral for a loan.

• 2019-11-12 (executed) / recorded 2019-11-12 — Reel 047640/0178 (from Google Patents)

  • Conveyance: Release By Secured Party
  • Assignor: SILICON VALLEY BANK
  • Assignee: OPENSESAME INC.
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Release of security interest.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8784113
    2011 : Filed by Individual inventors
         : Assigned to Blue Tech LLC
    2014 : Assigned to OPENSESAME Inc
    2018 : Security interest to Silicon Valley Bank
         : Security interest to Pivotal Capital Fund LP
    2019 : Release by Silicon Valley Bank

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Unclear. Blue Tech, LLC (2011-06-09 / 026778/0500) served as an intermediary between the inventors and OPENSESAME Inc. However, there's insufficient information in the provided text to determine if Blue Tech, LLC was a shell entity (e.g., no products, registered-agent address). OPENSESAME Inc. appears to be an operating company based on the patent description and the nature of the e-learning system.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. None of the assignees (Blue Tech, LLC, OPENSESAME Inc., Silicon Valley Bank, Pivotal Capital Fund, LP) are explicitly identified as known NPEs in the provided information or common public lists. Go1 Pty, Ltd. is noted as a defendant in litigation, not an assignee in the provided timeline.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. Correspondent information is not provided for any of the recorded assignments.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. The transfers occur over several years, not in rapid succession.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The most recent assignment (release of security interest) was in 2019, while the district court litigation against Go1 Pty, Ltd. began in 2021.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The transfers do not appear to be associated with bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no information in the provided text to suggest that OPENSESAME Inc. transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator. Unified Patents is a petitioner in an IPR, which is an anti-NPE action, but they are not an assignee in the chain of ownership.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

The patent was transferred from the inventors to Blue Tech, LLC, and then to OPENSESAME Inc., which is described as the current assignee and the provider of the "OPENSESAME" e-learning system detailed in the patent. The ongoing litigation in Oregon District Court (3:21-cv-01258) shows OPENSESAME, Inc. as the plaintiff against GO1 Pty, Ltd., indicating an operating company asserting its patent against a competitor. [cite: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US8784113](/patent/US8784113)/en]

For verification, you can search the USPTO Assignment Center using patent number 8784113: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/