Assignment history

Inventors

• Anpeng Huang (Employer: BEIJING JINDIANCHUANGQI TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Co Ltd, based on later assignment records)

Original assignee

The patent US9320041B2 was originally assigned to Empire Technology Development LLC. It is unclear from the patent document whether Empire Technology Development LLC shipped a product embodying the claims or their primary line of business. Google Patents lists their current status as "Active, expires 2033-05-18".

Assignment timeline

• 2013-10-24 (executed) / recorded 2013-10-24 — Reel 031174/0970
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BEIJING JINDIANCHUANGQI TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.
  • Assignee: EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC
  • Correspondent: ANPENG HUANG, ANPENG HUANG, ROOM 1007, B1 BUILDING, BAISHIQIAO XIZHAOMEN NO.2, HAIDIAN DIST., BEIJING, CHINA
  • Context: Internal transfer
• 2013-10-24 (executed) / recorded 2013-10-24 — Reel 031174/0971
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HUANG, Anpeng
  • Assignee: BEIJING JINDIANCHUANGQI TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: ANPENG HUANG, ANPENG HUANG, ROOM 1007, B1 BUILDING, BAISHIQIAO XIZHAOMEN NO.2, HAIDIAN DIST., BEIJING, CHINA. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal transfer
• 2019-01-29 (executed) / recorded 2019-01-29 — Reel 046328/0507
  • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC
  • Assignee: CRESTLINE DIRECT FINANCE, L.P.
  • Correspondent: BRENT JOHNSON, BOIES SCHILLER FLEXNER LLP, 55 HUDSON YARDS, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Context: Securitization
• 2023-11-29 (executed) / recorded 2023-11-29 — Reel 056461/0834
  • Conveyance: RELEASE BY SECURED PARTY
  • Assignor: CRESTLINE DIRECT FINANCE, L.P.
  • Assignee: EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC
  • Correspondent: C. G. HERRING, BRACEWELL LLP, P.O. BOX 130384, HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES
  • Context: Release of security interest

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9320041
    2012 : Filed by Empire Technology Development LLC
    2013 : Assigned to Empire Technology Development
         : Inventor assigned to Beijing Jindiachuangqi
    2016 : Issued
    2019 : Security Interest to Crestline Direct
    2023 : Security Interest Released to Empire Tech

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — unclear. While Empire Technology Development LLC and BEIJING JINDIANCHUANGQI TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Co Ltd may not be manufacturing entities, there's no explicit evidence like a registered-agent address or "IP / Patents / Licensing" in their names in the provided records to definitively label them as shell entities for licensing purposes only.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. None of the assignees (Empire Technology Development LLC, BEIJING JINDIANCHUANGQI TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Co Ltd, CRESTLINE DIRECT FINANCE, L.P.) are explicitly listed as known NPEs in the common directories.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. ANPENG HUANG, ANPENG HUANG, ROOM 1007, B1 BUILDING, BAISHIQIAO XIZHAOMEN NO.2, HAIDIAN DIST., BEIJING, CHINA, is listed as the correspondent for both the 2013-10-24 assignments (Reel 031174/0970 and Reel 031174/0971).
4. Cascading transfers — present. Two assignments were executed and recorded on the same day, 2013-10-24, involving Anpeng Huang, BEIJING JINDIANCHUANGQI TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Co Ltd, and Empire Technology Development LLC (Reel 031174/0970, Reel 031174/0971).
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. While the Google Patents page indicates "Family has litigation" and "US case filed in Texas Eastern District Court", the exact filing date of the first suit is not provided in a way that allows comparison to the assignment dates.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. No indication of bankruptcy proceedings for the original assignee.
7. Privateering — not present. No evidence in the provided text suggests an operating company transferring the patent to an NPE for assertion on their behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not end at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence

The presence of repeat correspondents across early assignments (Reel 031174/0970, Reel 031174/0971) and cascading transfers on the same day (2013-10-24) are signals often associated with NPE activity, as they suggest a structured transfer of ownership. Although a known NPE is not directly in the chain, these patterns indicate a likelihood that the patent was moved through entities with an eye towards potential assertion or monetization rather than product manufacturing.

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