Assignment history

Inventors

Richard D. Haney. At the time of filing, Richard D. Haney was associated with X One, Inc., the original assignee. The patent text indicates he was a co-founder of X One, Inc.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is X One Inc. [cite: US8798647B1]

X One Inc. was founded in 2004 by Richard D. Haney and Jose J. Picazo. Their primary line of business involved developing location-sharing and mapping technology for mobile devices, enabling applications for various uses such as tracking friends, family, or service providers in what they termed the "global shared economy." The company's products included client/server and carrier-class solutions, mobile data design, and location-based services. The patent itself describes software for mobile phones that implements these location tracking and sharing features, indicating that X One Inc. did ship or license products embodying the claims. [cite: US8798647B1]

X One Inc. is a privately held company. Its current status appears to be operating, as its website (xoneinc.com) is active and discusses its technology and patents.

Assignment timeline

• 2013-10-15 (executed) / recorded 2013-11-20 — Reel 031383/0530

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HANEY, RICHARD D.
  • Assignee: X ONE, INC.
  • Correspondent: ALAN D. ERNEST, ESQ.; 1720 Windward Concourse, Suite 100, Alpharetta GA 30005
  • Context: Original assignment from the inventor to the corporate entity that developed the technology and filed the patent application.

• 2021-08-05 (executed) / recorded 2021-08-09 — Reel 058866/0335

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: X ONE, INC.
  • Assignee: X ONE ASSET ACQUISITION LLC
  • Correspondent: ROBERT A. MEAD, ESQ.; SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS (US) LLP; 2550 M STREET, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20037
  • Context: Transfer from an operating company to a newly formed entity, potentially for asset management or monetization.

• 2021-12-09 (executed) / recorded 2021-12-14 — Reel 062608/0748

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: X ONE ASSET ACQUISITION LLC
  • Assignee: LUMINOSITY CELLULAR LLC
  • Correspondent: BLAIR LEES; 17300 E. ELIAS ST. SUITE 202, SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85257
  • Context: Transfer between two limited liability companies, further distancing the patent from the original operating company.

• 2022-03-24 (executed) / recorded 2022-04-12 — Reel 062608/0752

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: LUMINOSITY CELLULAR LLC
  • Assignee: LUMINOSITY IP LLC
  • Correspondent: BLAIR LEES; 17300 E. ELIAS ST. SUITE 202, SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85257. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal transfer between related LLCs, with the assignee name (Luminosity IP LLC) strongly suggesting a patent licensing/assertion entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8798647
    2013 : Assigned to X One Inc
    2014 : Patent granted
    2021 : Assigned to X One Asset Acquisition LLC
         : Assigned to Luminosity Cellular LLC
    2022 : Assigned to Luminosity IP LLC
         : Litigation initiated

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer

   • Present. The transfer from X ONE, INC. to X ONE ASSET ACQUISITION LLC (executed 2021-08-05, Reel 058866/0335) is a transfer from an operating company to an LLC with "Asset Acquisition" in its name. The subsequent transfer from X ONE ASSET ACQUISITION LLC to LUMINOSITY CELLULAR LLC (executed 2021-12-09, Reel 062608/0748) and then to LUMINOSITY IP LLC (executed 2022-03-24, Reel 062608/0752) further indicate a shift to licensing-only entities, especially "Luminosity IP LLC."

2. Known asserter in the chain

   • Present. Luminosity IP LLC, the current assignee, is identified as a known asserter by Unified Patents and RPX.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain

   • Present. Blair Lees (17300 E. ELIAS ST. SUITE 202, SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85257) is listed as the correspondent for both the assignment to LUMINOSITY CELLULAR LLC (recorded 2021-12-14, Reel 062608/0748) and the subsequent assignment to LUMINOSITY IP LLC (recorded 2022-04-12, Reel 062608/0752).

4. Cascading transfers

   • Present. There were three consecutive assignments within a short period: from X ONE, INC. to X ONE ASSET ACQUISITION LLC (executed 2021-08-05), then to LUMINOSITY CELLULAR LLC (executed 2021-12-09, approximately 4 months later), and finally to LUMINOSITY IP LLC (executed 2022-03-24, approximately 3.5 months later). This constitutes a rapid succession of transfers (three assignments in under 8 months).

5. Pre-litigation transfer

   • Present. The assignment to Luminosity IP LLC was executed on 2022-03-24 (Reel 062608/0752). Luminosity IP LLC filed a lawsuit against AT&T in the Western District of Texas on 2022-06-15, which is less than three months after the execution date of the assignment.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale

   • Not present. No evidence suggests the original assignee, X One, Inc., underwent bankruptcy proceedings leading to the patent transfer.

7. Privateering

   • Unclear. There is no direct evidence from the assignment records or public searches indicating that X One, Inc. transferred the patent to Luminosity IP LLC to assert on its behalf against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE)

   • Not present. The patent is currently held by Luminosity IP LLC, which is identified as a patent asserter.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is driven by multiple strong signals. The patent underwent a series of cascading transfers, moving from the operating company X One, Inc. to X ONE ASSET ACQUISITION LLC, then to LUMINOSITY CELLULAR LLC, and finally to LUMINOSITY IP LLC, with "Asset Acquisition" and "IP" suffixes strongly indicating shell entities (Reel 058866/0335, Reel 062608/0748, Reel 062608/0752). The current assignee, Luminosity IP LLC, is a known patent asserter identified by Unified Patents and RPX. Furthermore, the final transfer to Luminosity IP LLC (executed 2022-03-24) occurred less than three months before the first known post-acquisition infringement suit was filed (2022-06-15). The recurrence of Blair Lees as the correspondent for two consecutive assignments in the chain also signals a coordinated monetization effort.

For verification, refer to the USPTO Patent Assignment Search for US8798647.