Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor is Chandrika Worrall. The patent does not explicitly state the inventor's employer at the time of filing. However, the initial recorded assignment post-application filing is from Chandrika Worrall to IPWIRELESS, INC. in November 2011, approximately two years after the application was filed by Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC. This suggests a potential affiliation with IPWIRELESS, INC., or a structured transfer of rights through that entity.

Original Assignee

The original assignee, as indicated by the application filing, was Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC. Intellectual Ventures is widely recognized as a patent aggregation and licensing firm (a Non-Practicing Entity or NPE) that does not develop or ship products embodying the claimed inventions. Its primary line of business involves acquiring patents, managing intellectual property portfolios, and engaging in licensing and assertion activities. Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC remains an active entity within the Intellectual Ventures family.

Assignment timeline

• 2011-11-15 (executed) / recorded 2011-12-21 — Reel 027409/0064

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: CHANDRIKA WORRALL
  • Assignee: IPWIRELESS, INC.
  • Correspondent: MARVIN L. BEALL, ESQ., BEALL & WHEATLEY, 400 M STREET, SW SUITE 700 WASHINGTON, DC 20024
  • Context: Inventor assigns patent rights to IPWireless, Inc. after the application was initially filed by Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC.

• 2012-05-08 (executed) / recorded 2012-05-18 — Reel 028211/0002

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: IPWIRELESS, INC.
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES HOLDING 81 LLC
  • Correspondent: R. ALAN BAIN, K&L GATES LLP, 925 FOURTH AVENUE, SUITE 2900, SEATTLE, WA 98104-1158
  • Context: IPWireless, Inc. transfers patent rights back to Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC.

• 2024-10-10 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-23 — Reel 046187/0572

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES HOLDING 81 LLC
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 194 LLC
  • Correspondent: JILL P BRIGGS, ADAMS AND REESE LLP, 1600 PAYNE AVENUE SUITE 100, ST. PAUL, MN 55130
  • Context: Internal transfer between entities within the Intellectual Ventures organization.

• 2024-10-16 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-23 — Reel 046187/0576

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 194 LLC
  • Assignee: INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: JILL P BRIGGS, ADAMS AND REESE LLP, 1600 PAYNE AVENUE SUITE 100, ST. PAUL, MN 55130. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from an Intellectual Ventures entity to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC, likely representing an asset sale to another patent assertion entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8976714
    2009 : Application filed by Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC
    2011 : Inventor assigns to IPWireless
    2012 : IPWireless assigns to Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC
    2015 : Patent issued
    2024 : IV Holding 81 assigns to IV Assets 194
         : IV Assets 194 assigns to Integral Wireless Tech

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC, Intellectual Ventures Assets 194 LLC, and Integral Wireless Technologies LLC all operate as patent holding or licensing entities without product lines, consistent with shell companies used for patent assertion. Intellectual Ventures is a well-known NPE. Integral Wireless Technologies LLC received the patent from an IV entity, further supporting its nature as a licensing/assertion vehicle. [cite: USPTO Assignment Record Reel 028211/0002, 046187/0572, 046187/0576]
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC and Intellectual Ventures Assets 194 LLC are both part of Intellectual Ventures, a prominent patent assertion entity (PAE). Integral Wireless Technologies LLC is also recognized in patent assertion databases as an NPE. [cite: USPTO Assignment Record Reel 028211/0002, 046187/0572, 046187/0576]
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Jill P Briggs from Adams and Reese LLP is listed as the correspondent for both the 2024-10-10 assignment (Reel 046187/0572) and the 2024-10-16 assignment (Reel 046187/0576). This indicates a consistent legal representative for the recent transfers involving Intellectual Ventures entities and Integral Wireless Technologies LLC.
4. Cascading transfers — Present. Two consecutive assignments occurred within a 6-day period in October 2024 (executed 2024-10-10 and 2024-10-16), both recorded on 2024-10-23. The patent moved from Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC to Intellectual Ventures Assets 194 LLC, and then to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC. [cite: USPTO Assignment Record Reel 046187/0572, 046187/0576]
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. The most recent assignment to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC was executed on 2024-10-16. While this is a relatively recent transfer, it is not possible to confirm a pre-litigation pattern without searching district court dockets for infringement suits filed within six months of this date (i.e., by April 2025). The provided CAFC docket information for 2026 does not cover this period.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no information in the assignment records or common knowledge suggesting any assignor in this chain was undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While Intellectual Ventures has a history of privateering, specific evidence tying this patent's transfer to such a strategy against an operating company's competitors is not available in the provided information.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The current assignee, Integral Wireless Technologies LLC, is not identified as a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The assignment chain clearly demonstrates multiple strong signals for patent assertion activity. The patent originated with and was transferred through several entities associated with Intellectual Ventures, a widely known NPE. Furthermore, the final transfer to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC, coupled with the presence of cascading transfers and a repeat correspondent for these transfers, strongly indicates an ongoing NPE strategy for this patent.
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