Assignment history

Inventors

• Simon Burgess: Co-founder of Ironburg Inventions Ltd and the SCUF Gaming brand. At the time of filing, he was directly associated with the original assignee.
• Duncan Ironmonger: Co-founder and CEO of Ironburg Inventions Ltd and the SCUF Gaming brand. At the time of filing, he was directly associated with the original assignee.

There are no unusual patterns. The inventors assigned the patent to the company they founded, which is standard practice.

Original assignee

The original assignee is Ironburg Inventions Ltd., a UK-based company. Ironburg is the intellectual property holding company for SCUF Gaming, a well-known manufacturer of high-performance and customized "pro" gaming controllers. SCUF Gaming shipped numerous products, including its popular SCUF Infinity and SCUF Impact controllers, that directly embodied the claims of the '688 patent, particularly its use of rear-mounted paddle controls. In December 2019, SCUF Gaming (including its IP portfolio held by Ironburg) was acquired by the publicly-traded computer peripherals company Corsair. Ironburg Inventions Ltd. continues to operate as the IP holder and plaintiff in litigation.

Assignment timeline

• 2014-04-14 (executed) / recorded 2016-11-21 — Reel 040388/0870

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Simon Burgess, Duncan Ironmonger
  • Assignee: Ironburg Inventions Ltd.
  • Correspondent: Not available in provided source text.
  • Context: Routine formal transfer of the invention from the individual inventors to their operating company to consolidate ownership.

• 2016-12-07 (executed) / recorded 2016-12-09 — Reel 040878/0527

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: Ironburg Inventions Limited
  • Assignee: Triangle Capital Corporation
  • Correspondent: Not available in provided source text.
  • Context: Securitization of the patent, where the patent was used as collateral to secure financing for the business.

• 2016-12-07 (executed) / recorded 2016-12-12 — Reel 040884/0057

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: Ironburg Inventions Limited
  • Assignee: Triangle Capital Corporation, As Agent
  • Correspondent: Not available in provided source text.
  • Context: A further recorded security interest related to the same financing arrangement with Triangle Capital Corporation.

• 2019-12-19 (executed) / recorded 2020-01-13 — Reel 051569/0397

  • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
  • Assignor: BSP Agency LLC
  • Assignee: Ironburg Inventions Limited
  • Correspondent: Not available in provided source text.
  • Context: Release of the previously recorded security interests, returning full and unencumbered title to Ironburg Inventions Ltd, likely following the satisfaction of the financing terms or in connection with the company's acquisition by Corsair.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9289688
    2014 : Executed assignment from inventors
    2015 : Application filed
    2016 : Patent issued
         : Assignment from inventors recorded
         : Security interest to Triangle Capital
         : First infringement suit filed
    2020 : Security interest released

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Not present. The patent has remained with the original entity, Ironburg Inventions Ltd., which is the IP holding company for an active operating business (SCUF Gaming) that commercialized the invention.

2. Known asserter in the chain: Present. Ironburg Inventions Ltd. is a known and frequent plaintiff, having asserted this patent and others in its portfolio against major industry players like Valve Corporation and Collective Minds Gaming. This activity is well-documented in court records (1:15-cv-04219, 1:2016cv04110).

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Unclear. The correspondent information for the assignment recordings is not available in the provided source text.

4. Cascading transfers: Not present. The recorded assignments are limited to the initial inventor transfer and a multi-year security interest agreement, not a rapid series of transfers between different LLCs.

5. Pre-litigation transfer: Not present. The patent was asserted by its original assignee. The 2016 recording of the 2014 inventor assignment was a standard action to perfect title before filing suit, not a transfer to a third-party assertion entity.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present. There is no evidence of bankruptcy.

7. Privateering: Not present. Ironburg Inventions Ltd. has asserted the patent directly on its own behalf.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present. The patent has not been transferred to a defensive entity.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

This verdict is based on clear evidence that the current patent owner, Ironburg Inventions Ltd., is the corporate entity tied to the original inventors and the SCUF Gaming brand, which has manufactured and sold products embodying the patent's claims for years. The company's extensive litigation history (e.g., against Valve) represents direct enforcement of its intellectual property against competitors in the marketplace. While a frequent asserter, Ironburg is a practicing entity, not a non-practicing entity (NPE).

Verification of the assignment history can be performed at the USPTO Patent Assignment Search page by searching for patent number 9289688.