Patent 9615192

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 (2)

Asserters network →

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

  1. 2016-07-14 · recorded 2016-07-15 · Assignment

    Gregory G. RaleighHEADWATER PARTNERS I LLC

    internal reorg

  2. 2017-01-04 · recorded 2017-01-05 · Merger and Change of Name

    HEADWATER MANAGEMENT LLC, HEADWATER PARTNERS I LLCHEADWATER RESEARCH LLC

    internal reorg

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

  • Gregory G. Raleigh: At the time of filing (July 15, 2016), Gregory G. Raleigh was the lead inventor and a co-founder of Headwater Research LLC, where he led the invention team.

Original assignee

The original assignee listed on the patent is Headwater Research LLC.

Headwater Research LLC is a technology innovation firm focused on inventing and developing technological breakthroughs. Their primary line of business involves mobile device operating system enhancements, cloud technology, and, to a lesser extent, medical devices. They state that their technology has enabled the incorporation of a spin-out company with a product line of smart service devices, cloud infrastructure, and mobile services, and that their portfolio is being licensed for global services and products. Gregory G. Raleigh, the inventor, also co-invented and commercialized cloud-based products.

However, Headwater Research LLC has an extensive history of patent assertion, consistently acting as a plaintiff in patent infringement lawsuits against major telecommunications and electronics companies. They are described as a "patent holding entity focused on wireless networking and device management technologies" and were awarded a significant jury verdict in a patent infringement case against Samsung.

Headwater Research LLC is a privately held company, headquartered in Tyler, TX, and was founded in 2008. Their current status is operating and actively engaged in technology development, licensing, and patent assertion.

Assignment timeline

Based on the Google Patents "Legal status" section, which indicates recorded assignments, the following chronological events are noted. Due to the inability to perform a live USPTO Assignment Center search, specific reel/frame numbers and the name of the correspondent attorney of record for each transaction cannot be provided with high confidence, and are indicated as placeholders.

  • 2016-07-14 (executed) / recorded 2016-07-15 — Reel [UNCONFIRMED]/[UNCONFIRMED]

    • Conveyance: Assignment (implied from "Assigned to HEADWATER PARTNERS I LLC" and standard practice of inventor assigning to an entity)
    • Assignor: Gregory G. Raleigh (Inventor)
    • Assignee: Headwater Partners I LLC
    • Correspondent: [UNCONFIRMED]
    • Context: Transfer of rights from individual inventor to an entity within the Headwater group.

  • 2017-01-04 (executed) / recorded 2017-01-05 — Reel [UNCONFIRMED]/[UNCONFIRMED]

    • Conveyance: Merger and Change of Name / Reassignment
    • Assignor: Headwater Management LLC, Headwater Partners I LLC
    • Assignee: Headwater Research LLC
    • Correspondent: [UNCONFIRMED]
    • Context: Internal restructuring within the Headwater group, consolidating ownership under Headwater Research LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9615192
    2016 : Inventor assigned to Headwater Partners I LLC
    2017 : Headwater Partners I LLC merged into Headwater Research LLC
         : Patent issued
    2025 : Litigation by Headwater Research LLC
    2026 : Litigation by Headwater Research LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — Unclear. Headwater Research LLC identifies itself as a technology innovation firm that develops and licenses technology, and has spun out product companies. This suggests it is not a pure shell entity. However, its significant and frequent patent litigation activity and description as a "patent holding entity" suggest a strong focus on assertion, which is common for NPEs. The transfers within the "Headwater" family (to Headwater Partners I LLC, then to Headwater Research LLC) are internal and don't involve external shell entities.
  2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Headwater Research LLC is itself a high-frequency patent plaintiff (asserter). Unified Patents and RPX data (referenced in the Google Patents litigation section) also identify litigation involving Headwater Research LLC. For example, Headwater Research LLC has filed multiple cases in the Eastern District of Texas, a venue historically favored by patent plaintiffs.
  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. Due to the inability to perform a live USPTO Assignment Center search, correspondent details (name, firm, address) for the recorded assignments are not available.
  4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There were two transfers in total, one from the inventor to an internal entity, and then an internal restructuring. These occurred over a period of about six months and don't suggest rapid, consecutive external transfers to different LLCs.
  5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The assignments (2016-07-15, 2017-01-05) occurred before the patent was issued (2017-04-04). The earliest litigation mentioned for Headwater Research LLC in general is from 2023, with many cases in 2025 and 2026. There is no transfer recorded within six months before any documented litigation specifically naming this patent (9615192) in the available information.
  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. Headwater Research LLC appears to be an active and financially engaged entity, not one that has undergone a bankruptcy fire-sale.
  7. Privateering — Unclear. While Headwater Research LLC asserts patents, there is no direct evidence from the provided text that it is doing so on behalf of a specific operating company competitor. It appears to be asserting its own patent portfolio.
  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain ends with Headwater Research LLC, an active asserter.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. Headwater Research LLC is documented as a prolific patent asserter, having initiated numerous infringement suits against major technology companies. While they describe themselves as an innovation firm that licenses technology, their extensive and consistent litigation record, including a significant jury award for other patents, aligns strongly with an NPE profile. The patent ownership is held by Headwater Research LLC, which is also the asserting entity.

For verification of assignment records, please refer to the USPTO Assignment Center search for US9615192: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/assignment-result?query=US9615192

Generated 5/27/2026, 6:47:15 AM