Assignment history

Inventors

• Vernell Woods (Employer at time of filing: Not explicitly stated in the patent text or readily determinable through a quick search.)
• Dennis Campbell (Employer at time of filing: Not explicitly stated.)
• Troy Nunnally (Employer at time of filing: Not explicitly stated.)
• Travis Nunnally (Employer at time of filing: Not explicitly stated.)
• Alexander Mims (Employer at time of filing: Not explicitly stated.)

There is no explicit information within the patent text about the inventors' employers at the time of filing. The initial assignment from all inventors to YOPIMA LLC occurred on July 11, 2013, shortly after the May 21, 2013 filing date. This pattern (inventors assigning to a company) is common and does not inherently suggest an unusual pattern like immediate departure or a portfolio fire-sale.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent US9119038 is YOPIMA LLC.

Determining whether YOPIMA LLC shipped a product embodying the claims, their primary line of business, and their current status requires external research beyond the patent document itself.

YOPIMA LLC does not appear to ship products embodying the claims. Their primary line of business, based on litigation activity, appears to be patent assertion and licensing. YOPIMA LLC has filed multiple patent infringement lawsuits involving US9119038 against various companies, including DoorDash, Lime, Grubhub Holdings Inc., Neighborfavor, Inc., Cellco Partnership (Verizon Wireless), InMarket Media, LLC, and E2Open Parent Holdings, Inc.. This pattern of litigation suggests YOPIMA LLC operates as a Patent Assertion Entity (PAE). Yopima LLC is described as an "inventor-controlled NPE" by RPX Corp.

Its current status is active, as indicated by Google Patents.

Assignment timeline

The USPTO Assignment Search (https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/) shows the following record for US Patent 9119038:

• 2013-07-11 (executed) / recorded 2013-07-16 — Reel 030136/0061
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: CAMPBELL, DENNIS; MIMS, ALEXANDER; NUNNALLY, TRAVIS; NUNNALLY, TROY; WOODS, VERNELL
  • Assignee: YOPIMA LLC
  • Correspondent: BRENT RAMEY, RAMEY & SCHREIBER, P.C., 1700 WEST LOOP SOUTH, SUITE 1500, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77027. This correspondent, Ramey LLP, has been identified in multiple lawsuits as representing YOPIMA LLC.
  • Context: Transfer of full interest from the inventors to the initial assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9119038
    2013 : Filed by inventors
         : Assigned to YOPIMA LLC
    2015 : Issued to YOPIMA LLC
    2025 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was assigned from the individual inventors to YOPIMA LLC on July 11, 2013 (Reel 030136/0061). YOPIMA LLC does not appear to manufacture products and has engaged in extensive patent litigation, indicating it operates as a licensing-only or assertion entity. PatSnap explicitly identifies Yopima, LLC as a "patent assertion entity (PAE)".
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. YOPIMA LLC is identified as an "inventor-controlled NPE" by RPX Corp and a "patent assertion entity (PAE)" by PatSnap.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Brent Ramey of Ramey & Schreiber, P.C. (later Ramey LLP) is listed as the correspondent for the initial assignment on 2013-07-16 (Reel 030136/0061). Ramey LLP has also represented YOPIMA LLC in numerous patent infringement lawsuits involving US9119038.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There is only one recorded assignment in the chain from the inventors to YOPIMA LLC.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The only recorded assignment (2013-07-11) occurred long before the first recorded infringement suit (July 10, 2025).
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication of YOPIMA LLC or the inventors filing for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While YOPIMA LLC asserts the patent, there is no public information definitively linking it to an operating company acting as a privateer. RPX describes Yopima LLC as "inventor-controlled".
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently owned by YOPIMA LLC, an asserting entity.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The high confidence NPE verdict is driven by YOPIMA LLC's clear pattern of patent assertion, with multiple infringement lawsuits filed against operating companies. This is supported by its identification as a "patent assertion entity" by PatSnap and an "inventor-controlled NPE" by RPX Corp, and the consistent use of Ramey LLP as correspondent and litigation counsel for the initial assignment (Reel 030136/0061, recorded 2013-07-16) and subsequent assertions.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search results for US9119038.