Assignment history

Inventors

The sole inventor named on U.S. Patent 9,503,421 is Dong Liang. At the time of filing (March 17, 2014), Dong Liang was an employee of Fortinet Inc., the original assignee, as evidenced by the assignment of the patent rights to Fortinet Inc. on the same date. There are no immediate indications of unusual patterns, such as the inventor departing the original assignee shortly after filing, based solely on the provided patent text.

Original Assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Fortinet Inc. Fortinet is a global cybersecurity company that develops and sells cybersecurity software, appliances, and services, such as firewalls, antivirus, intrusion prevention systems, and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions. The patent itself describes the SIEM device in the context of network architecture that could include Fortinet's own product families (e.g., FORTIGATE, FORTIANALYZER), suggesting they shipped products embodying the claims. Fortinet Inc. is currently an operating, publicly traded company.

Assignment timeline

The following is a chronological list of recorded assignments for US Patent 9,503,421:

• 2014-03-17 (executed) / recorded 2014-03-17 — Reel 031853/0628
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: DONG LIANG
  • Assignee: FORTINET, INC.
  • Correspondent: WONG, CHONG HUNG; FORTINET, INC.; 899 KIFER ROAD SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA 94086.
  • Context: Initial assignment from inventor to original operating company assignee upon patent application filing.
• 2025-11-19 (executed) / recorded 2025-11-25 — Reel 064972/0885
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: FORTINET, INC.
  • Assignee: PALISADE TECHNOLOGIES, LLP
  • Correspondent: NEAL, CHARLES M; NEAL & MCDEVITT, LLC; 1776 PEACHTREE RD NW SUITE 300N ATLANTA, GA 30309. This correspondent appears multiple times in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer from the original operating company to an LLC, likely for patent assertion purposes.
• 2025-11-19 (executed) / recorded 2025-11-25 — Reel 064972/0886
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: PALISADE TECHNOLOGIES, LLP
  • Assignee: ATHENA SECURITY, LLP
  • Correspondent: NEAL, CHARLES M; NEAL & MCDEVITT, LLC; 1776 PEACHTREE RD NW SUITE 300N ATLANTA, GA 30309. This correspondent appears multiple times in this chain.
  • Context: Subsequent transfer between LLCs on the same day as the previous transfer, indicating a cascading ownership structure.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9503421
    2014 : Filed; Inventor to Fortinet
    2016 : Issued
    2025 : Fortinet to Palisade Tech LLP
         : Palisade Tech to Athena Sec LLP
    2026 : First assertion by Athena

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present [cite: 064972/0885, 064972/0886]. The patent was transferred from Fortinet, Inc., a product-shipping company, to Palisade Technologies, LLP, and subsequently to Athena Security, LLP. Names like "Technologies, LLP" and "Security, LLP" are common for licensing-only entities. The litigation section indicates Athena Security, LLP is actively asserting the patent as part of a "broader campaign," consistent with a shell entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Athena Security, LLP is the current assignee and has initiated litigation against Google LLC (7:26-cv-00158) and Amazon.com, Inc. et al. (7:26-cv-00061) in the Western District of Texas in 2026. This activity confirms Athena Security, LLP as a patent asserter.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present [cite: 064972/0885, 064972/0886]. Charles M. Neal of Neal & McDevitt, LLC is listed as the correspondent for both the transfer from Fortinet to Palisade Technologies, LLP and the subsequent transfer from Palisade Technologies, LLP to Athena Security, LLP. This recurrence across consecutive transfers to different LLCs is a strong signal.
4. Cascading transfers — present [cite: 064972/0885, 064972/0886]. There were two consecutive assignments executed on the same day (2025-11-19) from Fortinet, Inc. to Palisade Technologies, LLP and then from Palisade Technologies, LLP to Athena Security, LLP. Both were recorded on 2025-11-25 and share the same correspondent and firm, indicating a rapid, coordinated transfer of ownership.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — present [cite: 064972/0885, 064972/0886]. The assignments to Palisade Technologies, LLP and Athena Security, LLP were executed on November 19, 2025, and recorded on November 25, 2025. The first infringement suit by Athena Security, LLP (against Amazon) was filed on February 20, 2026 (Case 7:26-cv-00061), which is approximately three months after the assignments, falling within the 6-month pre-litigation window.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Fortinet, Inc. is an active operating company, and there is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — unclear. While the transfer is from an operating company (Fortinet) to an NPE (Athena Security, LLP), without specific public disclosures or reporting, it is difficult to definitively label this as privateering rather than a straightforward portfolio sale.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with Athena Security, LLP, which is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on multiple strong signals: the transfer from an operating company (Fortinet) to shell entities (Palisade Technologies, LLP and Athena Security, LLP) [cite: 064972/0885, 064972/0886], the current assignee (Athena Security, LLP) being a known asserter initiating multiple litigations, the presence of cascading transfers executed on the same day leading to the current asserter [cite: 064972/0885, 064972/0886], and the pre-litigation timing of these transfers [cite: 064972/0885, 064972/0886]. The repeated correspondent across these transfers further reinforces the coordinated nature of the asset transfer to an asserting entity.

For verification, refer to the USPTO Assignment Center search for patent number 9503421: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/9503421