Assignment history

Inventors

• Michael Paljug (Conexant Systems, Inc. at the time of the earliest priority date, November 24, 2004, though the filing for US9207748B2 was July 30, 2014)

Original assignee

The original assignee listed on US9207748B2 is Intellectual Ventures I LLC. Intellectual Ventures I LLC is known primarily as a patent monetization firm and is not an operating company that ships products embodying the claims. Its primary line of business involves acquiring and licensing patents. Intellectual Ventures I LLC is still an active entity.

Assignment timeline

• 2024-10-08 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-08 — Reel 059952/0046
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: CONEXANT SYSTEMS, INC.
  • Assignee: XOCYST TRANSFER AG L.L.C.
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL T. MCCOLLUM, THE MCCOLLUM GROUP, PLLC, 2220 CR 224, NEWCASTLE, TX, 76372. This correspondent has appeared on other tracked patents.
  • Context: Transfer from an operating company to a new entity, likely for patent monetization purposes.
• 2024-10-08 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-08 — Reel 059952/0049
  • Conveyance: MERGER
  • Assignor: XOCYST TRANSFER AG L.L.C.
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES I LLC
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL T. MCCOLLUM, THE MCCOLLUM GROUP, PLLC, 2220 CR 224, NEWCASTLE, TX, 76372. This correspondent has appeared on other tracked patents.
  • Context: Acquisition of Xocyst Transfer AG L.L.C. by Intellectual Ventures I LLC, consolidating ownership.
• 2024-10-10 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-10 — Reel 059956/0890
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES I LLC
  • Assignee: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL T. MCCOLLUM, THE MCCOLLUM GROUP, PLLC, 2220 CR 224, NEWCASTLE, TX, 76372. This correspondent has appeared on other tracked patents.
  • Context: Internal reorganization / transfer within the Intellectual Ventures portfolio.
• 2024-10-16 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-16 — Reel 059966/0014
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: INTELLECTUAL VENTURES ASSETS 199 LLC
  • Assignee: INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL T. MCCOLLUM, THE MCCOLLUM GROUP, PLLC, 2220 CR 224, NEWCASTLE, TX, 76372. This correspondent has appeared on other tracked patents.
  • Context: Transfer to a new entity, Integral Wireless Technologies LLC, which is the current assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9207748
    2014 : Filed by Intellectual Ventures I LLC
    2015 : Issued to Intellectual Ventures I LLC
    2024-10-08 : Assigned from Conexant to Xocyst
               : Xocyst merged into Intellectual Ventures I
    2024-10-10 : Assigned to Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC
    2024-10-16 : Assigned to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present.

   • Reel 059952/0046, executed and recorded 2024-10-08: Conexant Systems, Inc. assigned to XOCYST TRANSFER AG L.L.C. The name "XOCYST TRANSFER AG L.L.C." suggests a shell entity for asset transfer.
   • Reel 059966/0014, executed and recorded 2024-10-16: Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC assigned to INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC. The current assignee, Integral Wireless Technologies LLC, does not appear to be an operating company with products, and its name strongly suggests a licensing-focused entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — present.

   • Reel 059952/0049, executed and recorded 2024-10-08: Xocyst Transfer AG L.L.C. merged into INTELLECTUAL VENTURES I LLC. Intellectual Ventures is a well-known patent monetization firm (NPE).
   • The current assignee, INTEGRAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES LLC, is listed as having litigation associated with this patent family on Google Patents.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present.

   • MICHAEL T. MCCOLLUM, THE MCCOLLUM GROUP, PLLC, 2220 CR 224, NEWCASTLE, TX, 76372 appears as the correspondent for all recorded assignments: Reel 059952/0046, Reel 059952/0049, Reel 059956/0890, and Reel 059966/0014. This consistent correspondent for multiple transfers within a short timeframe, including to and from known NPE entities, is a strong indicator of an NPE pattern.

4. Cascading transfers — present.

   • The transfers occurred in rapid succession in October 2024:
     • 2024-10-08: Conexant to Xocyst (Reel 059952/0046)
     • 2024-10-08: Xocyst merged into Intellectual Ventures I (Reel 059952/0049)
     • 2024-10-10: Intellectual Ventures I to Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC (Reel 059956/0890)
     • 2024-10-16: Intellectual Ventures Assets 199 LLC to Integral Wireless Technologies LLC (Reel 059966/0014)
   • This sequence of four transfers within 8 days, all handled by the same correspondent, is a clear signal of cascading transfers, often indicative of an NPE strategy.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear.

   • The patent was granted on December 8, 2015, and the assignment chain occurred in October 2024. While there is litigation associated with this patent family, the specific timing of the first infringement suit relative to these 2024 assignments is not immediately apparent from the provided information.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present.

   • There is no indication that Conexant Systems, Inc., Intellectual Ventures, or any other assignor in the chain filed for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — unclear.

   • While Intellectual Ventures and Integral Wireless Technologies are known patent monetizers, explicit evidence of privateering (an operating company using an NPE to assert patents on its behalf against competitors) is not directly available from the assignment records alone.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present.

   • The chain does not terminate at any known defensive aggregators like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The strong signals for a shell-entity transfer, the presence of a known asserter (Intellectual Ventures I LLC) in the chain, the recurrence of the same correspondent across all transfers, and the cascading nature of the assignments within a very short timeframe collectively indicate a high likelihood of NPE activity. The current assignee, Integral Wireless Technologies LLC, also appears to be a licensing entity, consistent with an NPE model.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US9207748: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/#!/assignment/showSearch?adv=9207748