Assignment history

Inventors

• Olli Rantapuska (Nokia Technologies Oy)
• Kimmo Surakka (Nokia Technologies Oy)
• Guido Grassel (Nokia Technologies Oy)

It is generally assumed that inventions made during the course of employment, especially when hired to invent or solve specific problems, belong to the employer, often through assignment agreements. The inventors were employed by Nokia Technologies Oy at the time of filing, as indicated by the original assignee. There are no unusual patterns indicating inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

Nokia Technologies Oy.

Nokia Technologies Oy is a subsidiary of Nokia Corporation, focusing on technology development and patent licensing. Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation. Nokia has historically shipped, and continues to license, products embodying communication technologies, including those related to short-range wireless communication like Bluetooth Low Energy, which is central to this patent.

Nokia Corporation is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2015-05-11 / recorded 2015-05-11 — Reel 035619/0754
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: NOKIA TECHNOLOGIES OY
  • Assignee: NOKIA CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: David R. Garrison, Nokia Inc., 6000 Connection Drive, Irving, TX 75039.
  • Context: Internal reorg
• 2016-08-31 / recorded 2016-08-31 — Reel 038596/0200
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: NOKIA CORPORATION
  • Assignee: NOKIA TECHNOLOGIES OY
  • Correspondent: David R. Garrison, Nokia Inc., 6000 Connection Drive, Irving, TX 75039. (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Internal reorg
• 2017-09-13 / recorded 2017-09-13 — Reel 040439/0746
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ALCATEL LUCENT SAS, NOKIA SOLUTIONS AND NETWORKS BV, NOKIA TECHNOLOGIES OY
  • Assignee: PROVENANCE ASSET GROUP LLC
  • Correspondent: Michael C. Crotty, CANTOR COLBURN LLP, 20 Church Street, 22nd Floor, Hartford, CT 06103.
  • Context: Transfer-to-asserter
• 2017-09-13 / recorded 2017-09-13 — Reel 040439/0750
  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: PROVENANCE ASSET GROUP HOLDINGS, LLC, PROVENANCE ASSET GROUP LLC
  • Assignee: CORTLAND CAPITAL MARKET SERVICES, LLC
  • Correspondent: David L. Newman, GOLDBERG KOHN LTD, 55 East Monroe Street, Suite 3300, Chicago, IL 60603.
  • Context: Securitization
• 2017-09-13 / recorded 2017-09-13 — Reel 040439/0756
  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: PROVENANCE ASSET GROUP HOLDINGS, LLC, PROVENANCE ASSET GROUP LLC
  • Assignee: NOKIA USA INC.
  • Correspondent: David L. Newman, GOLDBERG KOHN LTD, 55 East Monroe Street, Suite 3300, Chicago, IL 60603. (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Securitization
• 2019-02-14 / recorded 2019-02-14 — Reel 043004/0002
  • Conveyance: Assignment and Assumption Agreement
  • Assignor: NOKIA USA INC.
  • Assignee: NOKIA US HOLDINGS INC.
  • Correspondent: William P. Keefauver, Nokia Technologies Oy, 6000 Connection Drive, Irving, TX 75039.
  • Context: Internal reorg
• 2021-11-30 / recorded 2021-11-30 — Reel 051012/0324
  • Conveyance: Release of Security Interest
  • Assignor: CORTLAND CAPITAL MARKETS SERVICES LLC
  • Assignee: PROVENANCE ASSET GROUP HOLDINGS LLC, PROVENANCE ASSET GROUP LLC
  • Correspondent: David L. Newman, GOLDBERG KOHN LTD, 55 East Monroe Street, Suite 3300, Chicago, IL 60603. (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Securitization release
• 2021-11-30 / recorded 2021-11-30 — Reel 051012/0326
  • Conveyance: Release of Security Interest
  • Assignor: NOKIA US HOLDINGS INC.
  • Assignee: PROVENANCE ASSET GROUP LLC, PROVENANCE ASSET GROUP HOLDINGS LLC
  • Correspondent: William P. Keefauver, Nokia Technologies Oy, 6000 Connection Drive, Irving, TX 75039. (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Securitization release
• 2021-12-28 / recorded 2021-12-28 — Reel 051184/0130
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: PROVENANCE ASSET GROUP LLC
  • Assignee: RPX CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: Arka P. Vani, RPX Corporation, One Market Plaza, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94105.
  • Context: Defensive aggregation
• 2023-04-22 / recorded 2023-04-22 — Reel 054238/0986
  • Conveyance: Patent Security Agreement
  • Assignor: RPX CORPORATION
  • Assignee: BARINGS FINANCE LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Correspondent: Andrew R. J. Winter, K&L GATES LLP, One Newark Center, 10th Floor, Newark, NJ 07102.
  • Context: Securitization
• 2024-08-05 / recorded 2024-08-05 — Reel 056345/0961
  • Conveyance: Release of Lien on Patents
  • Assignor: BARINGS FINANCE LLC
  • Assignee: RPX CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: Andrew R. J. Winter, K&L GATES LLP, One Newark Center, 10th Floor, Newark, NJ 07102. (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Securitization release
• 2024-08-06 / recorded 2024-08-06 — Reel 056353/0861
  • Conveyance: Patent Security Agreement
  • Assignor: RPX CLEARINGHOUSE LLC, RPX CORPORATION
  • Assignee: BARINGS FINANCE LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Correspondent: Andrew R. J. Winter, K&L GATES LLP, One Newark Center, 10th Floor, Newark, NJ 07102. (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Securitization

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9462410
    2014 : Filed by Nokia Technologies Oy
    2015 : Assigned to Nokia Corporation
    2016 : Issued
         : Assigned to Nokia Technologies Oy
    2017 : Assigned to Provenance Asset Group LLC
         : Security interest to Cortland
         : Security interest to Nokia USA Inc
    2019 : Assigned to Nokia US Holdings Inc
    2021 : Security release from Cortland
         : Security release from Nokia US Holdings
         : Assigned to RPX Corporation
    2023 : Security agreement to Barings Finance
    2024 : Security release from Barings Finance
         : Security agreement to Barings Finance

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.

   • Provenance Asset Group LLC (Assignee on 2017-09-13 / 040439/0746). Provenance Asset Group LLC was formed in 2017 to provide services enabling operating companies to expand into new markets with reduced patent risks from other operating companies. They acquired over 4,500 patent families from Nokia, with a business model focused on offering exclusive licenses to "litigation-grade patents" and explicitly stating they would not provide such rights to Non-Practicing Entities. However, the business model described suggests that while they license to operating companies, Provenance itself acts as a patent holding entity, providing the patents for assertion by its clients. The company's name itself, "Asset Group," also suggests a focus on holding and managing assets rather than producing products. While their stated goal is to help operating companies, the structure of acquiring a large portfolio and then licensing for assertion against named companies can be a characteristic of NPE-like behavior, where the holding entity itself does not practice the technology but enables litigation. Other entities named "Provenance" are involved in blockchain or investment, which are distinct from patent assertion.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present.

   • RPX CORPORATION (Assignee on 2021-12-28 / 051184/0130). RPX Corporation is a known defensive patent aggregator. They acquire patents to use defensively against patent trolls to protect their client base and provide licenses to their members. While their stated mission is to mitigate patent litigation risk for their members, their business model involves acquiring patents that could be problematic and providing licenses, which is a form of patent monetization.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.

   • David R. Garrison, Nokia Inc., 6000 Connection Drive, Irving, TX 75039 appears on reels 035619/0754 and 038596/0200.
   • David L. Newman, GOLDBERG KOHN LTD, 55 East Monroe Street, Suite 3300, Chicago, IL 60603 appears on reels 040439/0750, 040439/0756, and 051012/0324.
   • William P. Keefauver, Nokia Technologies Oy, 6000 Connection Drive, Irving, TX 75039 appears on reels 043004/0002 and 051012/0326.
   • Andrew R. J. Winter, K&L GATES LLP, One Newark Center, 10th Floor, Newark, NJ 07102 appears on reels 054238/0986, 056345/0961, and 056353/0861.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present.

   • While there are multiple transfers, they are typically separated by more than 24 months, or are related to securitization agreements rather than direct consecutive patent assignments through chained LLCs. For instance, the transfer to Provenance Asset Group LLC in 2017 is followed by the transfer to RPX Corporation in 2021.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear.

   • Without external litigation data for this specific patent, it is unclear if any assignment occurred within six months of the first infringement suit.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present.

   • Nokia Corporation is an active operating company. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for Nokia or any subsequent assignees leading to a fire-sale.

7. Privateering — Unclear.

   • Provenance Asset Group LLC's stated business model involves providing exclusive licenses to operating companies to assert patents against named competitors. This could be a form of privateering where Nokia (the original operating company) transferred patents to Provenance to have them asserted on their behalf. However, explicit evidence directly linking the assertions back to Nokia as the instigator is not provided in the assignment records or available search results.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Present.

   • RPX CORPORATION (Assignee on 2021-12-28 / 051184/0130). RPX is a well-known defensive patent aggregator, acquiring patents to protect its members from NPE litigation. The patent is currently held by RPX Corporation, indicating that it has been acquired for defensive purposes.

Verdict

Defensive / non-asserting

The patent was ultimately assigned to RPX Corporation on 2021-12-28 (Reel 051184/0130), which is a well-known defensive patent aggregator. RPX's business model is to acquire patents to mitigate litigation risk for its member companies, and they explicitly state that they do not litigate or assert the patent assets they purchase. This indicates that the patent has been neutralized for assertion purposes by an NPE.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/