Assignment history

Inventors

• Pierre Carion
• Kevin Smith

The patent does not list employers for the inventors at the time of filing, and no unusual patterns of inventor departures are determinable from the provided text.

Original assignee

Phunware Inc.

Phunware Inc. is a fully integrated enterprise cloud platform for mobile that offers products and services including mobile engagement, content management, and location-based services.
Its current status is operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2014-10-13 (executed) / recorded 2014-10-13 — Reel 032049/0569
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: GOTV NETWORKS, INC.
  • Assignee: Phunware, Inc.
  • Correspondent: Phunware, Inc., 7800 Shoal Creek Blvd Suite 230S, Austin, TX 78757
  • Context: Internal reorg
• 2015-02-10 (executed) / recorded 2015-02-17 — Reel 032331/0698
  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: Phunware, Inc.
  • Assignee: BRIDGE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
  • Correspondent: BRIDGE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, 55 Almaden Blvd, San Jose, CA 95113
  • Context: Securitization
• 2016-04-05 (executed) / recorded 2016-04-06 — Reel 035414/0675
  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: Phunware, Inc.
  • Assignee: WESTERN ALLIANCE BANK
  • Correspondent: WESTERN ALLIANCE BANK, 1 E Washington St Suite 1400, Phoenix, AZ 85004
  • Context: Securitization
• 2021-03-31 (executed) / recorded 2021-03-31 — Reel 049586/0700
  • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
  • Assignor: BRIDGE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
  • Assignee: Phunware, Inc.
  • Correspondent: Bridge Bank, 55 Almaden Blvd, San Jose, CA 95113
  • Context: Release of security interest
• 2021-03-31 (executed) / recorded 2021-03-31 — Reel 049586/0702
  • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
  • Assignor: WESTERN ALLIANCE BANK
  • Assignee: Phunware, Inc.
  • Correspondent: WESTERN ALLIANCE BANK, 1 E Washington Street, Suite 1400, Phoenix, AZ 85004
  • Context: Release of security interest
• 2022-10-14 (executed) / recorded 2022-10-14 — Reel 055106/0073
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: GOTV NETWORKS, INC.
  • Assignee: GOTV STREAMING, LLC
  • Correspondent: Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd., 180 N. Stetson Ave. Suite 4900, Chicago, IL 60601
  • Context: Transfer to asserter
• 2022-10-14 (executed) / recorded 2022-10-14 — Reel 055106/0074
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Phunware, Inc.
  • Assignee: GOTV STREAMING, LLC
  • Correspondent: Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd., 180 N. Stetson Ave. Suite 4900, Chicago, IL 60601. This correspondent recurs on this patent chain.
  • Context: Transfer to asserter
• 2022-10-14 (executed) / recorded 2022-10-14 — Reel 055106/0075
  • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
  • Assignor: WESTERN ALLIANCE BANK, AN ARIZONA CORPORATION, AS SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO BRIDGE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
  • Assignee: Phunware, Inc.
  • Correspondent: Phunware, Inc., 7800 Shoal Creek Blvd Suite 230S, Austin, TX 78757
  • Context: Release of security interest

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8989715
    2007 : Priority date
    2013 : Application filed
    2014 : Assigned GOTV to Phunware
    2015 : Issued
         : Security Interest to Bridge Bank
    2016 : Security Interest to Western Alliance
    2021 : Release by Bridge Bank
         : Release by Western Alliance
    2022 : Assigned GOTV to GOTV Streaming
         : Assigned Phunware to GOTV Streaming
         : Release by Western Alliance

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. In 2022, the patent was assigned to GOTV STREAMING, LLC (Reel 055106/0073, Reel 055106/0074). This entity's name suggests a licensing focus. Information from Unified Patents indicates GOTV Streaming LLC is an NPE.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. GOTV Streaming LLC is identified as a Petitioner in PTAB cases IPR2023-00758 and IPR2023-00757, and as a plaintiff in US case 2:22-cv-07556 filed in California Central District Court, all referencing US8989715. This activity is indicative of a known asserter.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd. appears as the correspondent for both assignments to GOTV STREAMING, LLC on 2022-10-14 (Reel 055106/0073, Reel 055106/0074). This recurrence on critical transfers to an NPE is a signal.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are no multiple consecutive assignments through chained LLCs in a short timeframe.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The patent was assigned to GOTV STREAMING, LLC on October 14, 2022 (Reel 055106/0073, Reel 055106/0074). Litigation involving this patent was filed in the California Central District Court on October 20, 2022 (case 2:22-cv-07556). This indicates the assignment occurred within 6 months before the first infringement suit.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of the original assignee, Phunware Inc., filing for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — unclear. While Phunware Inc. transferred the patent to GOTV Streaming LLC, without further information (e.g., from SEC filings or specific reporting), it is unclear if Phunware retains a financial interest in the assertion against competitors.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain ends with GOTV Streaming LLC, which is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on several strong signals: the transfer to GOTV STREAMING, LLC (Reel 055106/0073, Reel 055106/0074), which is identified as a known NPE, the repeat correspondent Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd. on these transfers, and the clear pre-litigation transfer activity where an infringement suit was filed just six days after the assignment.
Verification can be made on the USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/\