Patent 9523826

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Ownership chain (8)

Asserters network →

Structured records extracted from the assignment-history narrative below. Each entity links to its full ownership-network profile.

  1. 2014-09-09 · recorded 2014-10-02 · reel 033869/0778 · Assignment

    Tsai, Chao-Hung; Lin, Chien-Te; Yeh, Che-ShouApplied Optoelectronics, Inc., Taiwan

    Original assignment from inventors to company

  2. 2015-06-30 · recorded 2015-07-02 · reel 036047/0293 · Security Interest

    APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC.East West Bank, California

    Securitization

  3. 2017-09-28 · recorded 2017-09-29 · reel 044061/0812 · Security Interest

    APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC.BRANCH BANKING AND TRUST COMPANY, TEXAS

    Securitization

  4. 2017-10-05 · reel 044207/0573 · Release by Secured Party

    EAST WEST BANKApplied Optoelectronics, Inc., Texas

    Release of security interest back to the operating company

  5. 2022-11-16 · reel 061952/0344 · Release by Secured Party

    TRUIST BANK (FORMERLY KNOWN AS BRANCH BANKING AND TRUST COMPANY)Applied Optoelectronics, Inc., Texas

    Release of security interest

  6. 2022-11-16 · recorded 2022-11-28 · reel 062003/0523 · Patent Security Agreement

    APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC.CIT NORTHBRIDGE CREDIT LLC, NEW YORK

    Securitization

  7. 2023-11-17 · recorded 2023-11-20 · reel 065630/0906 · Termination and Release of Security Interest in Patents

    CIT NORTHBRIDGE CREDIT LLCApplied Optoelectronics, Inc., Texas

    Release of security interest back to the operating company

  8. 2025-07-31 · recorded 2025-08-01 · reel 072338/0695 · Security Interest

    APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC.BOKF, NA D/B/A BOK FINANCIAL, COLORADO

    Securitization

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

✓ Generated

Inventors

All inventors were employed by Applied Optoelectronics Inc at the time of filing, as indicated by the original assignment. There is no information to suggest they departed the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

Applied Optoelectronics Inc. is the original assignee and remains the current ultimate owner. The company ships products embodying the claims, as it is a manufacturer of optical networking products, including optical transceiver modules. Applied Optoelectronics Inc. is an operating company and is currently active.

Assignment timeline

  • 2014-09-09 (executed) / recorded 2014-10-02 — Reel 033869/0778
    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: Tsai, Chao-Hung; Lin, Chien-Te; Yeh, Che-Shou
    • Assignee: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc., Taiwan
    • Correspondent: Not specified in Google Patents legal events.
    • Context: Original assignment from inventors to company.
  • 2015-06-30 (executed) / recorded 2015-07-02 — Reel 036047/0293
    • Conveyance: Security Interest
    • Assignor: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
    • Assignee: East West Bank, California
    • Correspondent: Not specified in Google Patents legal events.
    • Context: Securitization (patent used as collateral for a loan).
  • 2017-09-28 (executed) / recorded 2017-09-29 — Reel 044061/0812
    • Conveyance: Security Interest
    • Assignor: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
    • Assignee: Branch Banking and Trust Company, Texas
    • Correspondent: Not specified in Google Patents legal events.
    • Context: Securitization (patent used as collateral for a loan).
  • 2017-10-05 (executed) / recorded 2017-10-05 — Reel 044207/0573
    • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
    • Assignor: East West Bank
    • Assignee: Applied Optoelectronics Inc, Texas
    • Correspondent: Not specified in Google Patents legal events.
    • Context: Release of security interest back to the operating company.
  • 2022-11-16 (executed) / recorded 2022-11-16 — Reel 061952/0344
    • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
    • Assignor: Truist Bank (formerly known as Branch Banking and Trust Company)
    • Assignee: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc., Texas
    • Correspondent: Not specified in Google Patents legal events.
    • Context: Release of security interest back to the operating company (following name change of Branch Banking and Trust Company to Truist Bank).
  • 2022-11-16 (executed) / recorded 2022-11-28 — Reel 062003/0523
    • Conveyance: Patent Security Agreement
    • Assignor: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
    • Assignee: CIT Northbridge Credit LLC, New York
    • Correspondent: Not specified in Google Patents legal events.
    • Context: Securitization (patent used as collateral for a loan).
  • 2023-11-17 (executed) / recorded 2023-11-20 — Reel 065630/0906
    • Conveyance: Termination and Release of Security Interest in Patents
    • Assignor: CIT Northbridge Credit LLC
    • Assignee: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc., Texas
    • Correspondent: Not specified in Google Patents legal events.
    • Context: Release of security interest back to the operating company.
  • 2025-07-31 (executed) / recorded 2025-08-01 — Reel 072338/0695
    • Conveyance: Security Interest
    • Assignor: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
    • Assignee: BOKF, NA D/B/A BOK FINANCIAL, Colorado
    • Correspondent: Not specified in Google Patents legal events.
    • Context: Securitization (patent used as collateral for a loan).

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9523826
    2014 : Assigned to Applied Optoelectronics
    2015 : Security interest to East West Bank
    2016 : Patent granted
    2017 : Security interest to BB&T
         : East West Bank releases interest
    2022 : Truist Bank releases interest
         : Security interest to CIT Northbridge
    2023 : CIT Northbridge releases interest
         : Litigation filed against unknown
    2025 : Security interest to BOK Financial

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — Not present. All transfers away from Applied Optoelectronics Inc. are security interests to financial institutions, with subsequent releases returning the interest to Applied Optoelectronics Inc. There is no evidence of an outright ownership transfer to a shell entity.
  2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. The assignees involved in security interests (East West Bank, Branch Banking and Trust Company/Truist Bank, CIT Northbridge Credit LLC, BOKF, NA D/B/A BOK FINANCIAL) are financial institutions, not known patent assertion entities.
  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. Correspondent information is not available in the provided Google Patents legal events for any of the recorded assignments.
  4. Cascading transfers — Not present. The recorded assignments primarily represent securitization events (security interests and releases) rather than a series of ownership transfers through multiple chained LLCs.
  5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. Litigation cases are noted as filed in 2023. While there was a Patent Security Agreement with CIT Northbridge Credit LLC executed on 2022-11-16 and recorded on 2022-11-28 (Reel 062003/0523) preceding the 2023 litigation, this was a security interest, not an assignment of ownership for assertion purposes. Applied Optoelectronics Inc remained the owner throughout this period.
  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. Applied Optoelectronics Inc is an active operating company, and there is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings related to these assignments.
  7. Privateering — Not present. The patent remains with the operating company, Applied Optoelectronics Inc, with no transfer to an NPE for assertion on its behalf.
  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The ownership chain does not terminate at any known defensive aggregators such as RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion
The patent is currently owned by Applied Optoelectronics Inc., an operating company that manufactures optical transceiver modules. The recorded assignments primarily consist of security interests granted to financial institutions and subsequent releases (e.g., Reel 036047/0293 to East West Bank, Reel 044061/0812 to Branch Banking and Trust Company, Reel 062003/0523 to CIT Northbridge Credit LLC, and Reel 072338/0695 to BOKF, NA D/B/A BOK FINANCIAL), indicating the patent is used as collateral for financing rather than being transferred for assertion by a non-practicing entity. The presence of multiple litigation filings originating from 2023 further suggests assertion by the operating company against competitors.

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

Generated 5/26/2026, 6:46:05 AM