Assignment history

Inventors

The inventor named on US Patent 9,123,186 is Christopher P. Ricci. At the time of filing, it is presumed he was employed by Flextronics AP LLC, as the initial assignment of rights occurred from him to Flextronics AP LLC shortly after the application filing date. No unusual patterns, such as a mass inventor exodus, are immediately apparent.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Flextronics AP LLC. Flextronics International Ltd. (now Flex Ltd.), the broader parent company, is a global diversified electronics manufacturing services (EMS) company that manufactures and ships a wide array of electronic products. Flextronics AP LLC itself appears to function as an intellectual property holding entity for the Flex organization, managing its patent portfolio rather than directly shipping products. Flex Ltd. is currently an active, operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2014-06-23 (executed) / recorded 2014-06-25 — Reel 035255/0062

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Ricci, Christopher P.
  • Assignee: Flextronics AP, LLC
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey C. Gatz, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P., 901 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001.
  • Context: Transfer of rights from inventor to corporate entity.

• 2015-08-27 (executed) / recorded 2015-08-28 — Reel 036814/0239

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: FLEXTRONICS AP, LLC
  • Assignee: AUTOCONNECT HOLDINGS LLC
  • Correspondent: Anthony R. DeLuca, P.C., DeLuca & Associates, 24800 US Highway 183, Suite 250, Cedar Park, TX 78641. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from an operating company's IP holding entity to a non-practicing entity.

• 2024-07-02 (executed) / recorded 2024-07-07 — Reel 050860/0610

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: AUTOCONNECT HOLDINGS LLC
  • Assignee: IP OPTIMUM LIMITED
  • Correspondent: Anthony R. DeLuca, P.C., DeLuca & Associates, 24800 US Highway 183, Suite 250, Cedar Park, TX 78641. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal reorganization or securitization within an assertion group.

• 2024-07-02 (executed) / recorded 2024-07-07 — Reel 050860/0611

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: IP OPTIMUM LIMITED
  • Assignee: AUTOCONNECT HOLDINGS LLC
  • Correspondent: Anthony R. DeLuca, P.C., DeLuca & Associates, 24800 US Highway 183, Suite 250, Cedar Park, TX 78641. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal reorganization or securitization within an assertion group, returning rights to the primary assertion entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9123186
    2014 : Filed by Flextronics AP LLC
         : Assigned to Flextronics AP LLC
    2015 : Issued
         : Assigned to AutoConnect Holdings LLC
    2024 : Assigned to IP Optimum Limited
         : Assigned to AutoConnect Holdings LLC
         : First infringement suit filed
    2025 : PTAB case filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred from Flextronics AP LLC (an IP holding entity of a large operating company) to AutoConnect Holdings LLC. The assignee name "Holdings" is indicative of a non-practicing entity. Furthermore, AutoConnect Holdings LLC's correspondent, Anthony R. DeLuca, P.C., is located in Cedar Park, TX, an area known for patent assertion activities, and Unified Patents identifies AutoConnect Holdings LLC as an NPE. Reel 036814/0239 documents this transfer.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. AutoConnect Holdings LLC is the current assignee and is identified as a plaintiff in ongoing patent infringement litigation related to this patent and as an NPE by Unified Patents.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Anthony R. DeLuca, P.C., of DeLuca & Associates, 24800 US Highway 183, Suite 250, Cedar Park, TX 78641, appears as the correspondent for three assignments: Reel 036814/0239 (2015-08-28), Reel 050860/0610 (2024-07-07), and Reel 050860/0611 (2024-07-07).
4. Cascading transfers — Present. There are two consecutive assignments involving AutoConnect Holdings LLC and IP Optimum Limited executed on the same date (2024-07-02) and recorded on the same date (2024-07-07), using the same correspondent. These transactions are documented in Reels 050860/0610 and 050860/0611.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The transfer to AutoConnect Holdings LLC in August 2015 (Reel 036814/0239) occurred just prior to the patent's issuance in September 2015, positioning it for future assertion. More recently, the transfers involving IP Optimum Limited and AutoConnect Holdings LLC in July 2024 (Reels 050860/0610 and 050860/0611) occurred in the same year as the noted infringement lawsuits filed by AutoConnect Holdings LLC (e.g., against Toyota and Ford in 2024).
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence indicates that Flextronics AP LLC or AutoConnect Holdings LLC underwent bankruptcy proceedings related to these assignments.
7. Privateering — Present. The original parent company, Flex Ltd., is an operating company that transferred the patent to Flextronics AP LLC (an IP holding entity) and subsequently to AutoConnect Holdings LLC, an NPE, which is now asserting the patent against other operating companies in the automotive sector. This pattern is consistent with privateering, where an operating company indirectly asserts patents through an NPE.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The current assignee is AutoConnect Holdings LLC, an entity involved in litigation, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on multiple strong signals: the transfer to a known NPE (AutoConnect Holdings LLC) as evidenced in Reel 036814/0239, the recurrence of the same correspondent (Anthony R. DeLuca, P.C.) across multiple assignments, cascading transfers immediately preceding litigation, and the overall pattern suggesting privateering from an operating company to an assertion entity.

USPTO Assignment Center search page for verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/