Assignment history

Inventors

• Steven H. Rempell (Employer: Express Mobile Inc.)
• David Chrobak (Employer: Express Mobile Inc.)
• Ken Brown (Employer: Express Mobile Inc.)

No unusual patterns were determinable regarding inventor departures.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent is EXPRESS MOBILE Inc.
Express Mobile, Inc. (XMO) was founded in 2006 by Steven H. Rempell and was a leader in mobile and desktop website generation, social media, and e-commerce websites, offering products such as the CDER™ publishing platform. Since 2012, XMO's primary line of business has shifted to licensing and "patent monetization efforts" of its patent portfolio. The company is currently operating and actively engaged in patent litigation against numerous technology firms.

Assignment timeline

• 2016-05-18 (executed) / recorded 2016-06-15 — Reel 037998/0463
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: REMPELL, STEVEN H.; CHROBAK, DAVID; BROWN, KEN
  • Assignee: EXPRESS MOBILE, INC.
  • Correspondent: BEYER LAW GROUP LLP; 2033 GATEWAY PLACE, SUITE 160; SAN JOSE, CA 95110.
  • Context: Transfer from inventors to the original assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9471287
    2008 : Priority date
    2015 : Application filed by Express Mobile Inc
    2016 : Inventors assign to Express Mobile Inc
         : Patent granted
    2019 : Express Mobile involved in Shopify litigation
    2020 : Express Mobile announces broad patent assertions
    2025 : Fed Circ vacates $40M verdict vs Shopify

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Not present. The only recorded transfer is from the inventors to Express Mobile, Inc., which is an operating company that developed the technology, though it has since shifted to patent monetization.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Express Mobile, Inc. is a known patent asserter, having publicly announced "patent monetization efforts" and filed multiple infringement lawsuits against major technology companies including Atlassian, Dropbox, eBay, Expedia, FaceBook, Google, HubSpot, Microsoft, Squarespace, Shopify, and GoDaddy, seeking "a fair royalty".
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. Only one assignment is recorded for this patent (Reel 037998/Frame 0463), so no recurring correspondent pattern can be identified within this specific chain.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. Only one assignment from the inventors to the original assignee is recorded.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The assignment to Express Mobile, Inc. was recorded on 2016-06-15 (Reel 037998/Frame 0463), significantly predating the first known litigation involving this patent, which commenced in March 2019 when Shopify filed a declaratory judgment action against Express Mobile.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence suggests Express Mobile, Inc. has undergone bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While Express Mobile, Inc. is actively asserting patents, there is no public information indicating that these assertions are being conducted on behalf of a specific operating company competitor. Express Mobile's statements suggest they are pursuing royalties on their own behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent remains owned by Express Mobile, Inc., which is actively asserting it.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence
Express Mobile, Inc. has transitioned its business model to focus on "patent monetization efforts" and actively engages in extensive patent litigation against numerous technology companies, including significant cases involving US9471287. The company's public statements confirm its intent to seek royalties for the use of its patented technology, a hallmark of a Non-Practicing Entity.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US9471287: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/