Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor is Richard D. Haney. At the time of the patent's filing (July 22, 2015), Richard D. Haney was the co-founder and CTO of X One, Inc., the original assignee. There is no indication that he departed the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is X One Inc.

Primary line of business: X One Inc. describes itself as the "Foundation of the Global Shared Economy," with its technology enabling trusted and ad hoc dynamic groups to share location data, communications, and mappings. They developed numerous patents and core IP in location sharing and mapping.

Products embodying the claims: X One, Inc. explicitly states that its products address technological problems associated with location sharing and mapping. They also developed "XOne Assist" for AI-enhanced applications and a multiexperience development platform.

Current status: X One, Inc. appears to be operating as an entity focused on intellectual property. Their website mentions previous patent litigation where they defended their location tracking patents (e.g., against Uber). The patent US9615204B1 was transferred from X One Inc. to Piney Woods Mobility LLC in November 2025.

Assignment timeline

• 2015-07-22 (executed) / recorded 2015-08-04 — Reel 037049/0569
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: HANEY, RICHARD D.
  • Assignee: X ONE INC.
  • Correspondent: ROBERT J. YARNELL, ESQ., 5850 CANOGA AVE., SUITE 400, WOODLAND HILLS, CA 91367
  • Context: Original assignment from inventor to the initial corporate assignee.
• 2025-11-24 (executed) / recorded 2025-12-08 — Reel 065586/0200
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: X ONE INC.
  • Assignee: PINEY WOODS MOBILITY LLC
  • Correspondent: CHRISTOPHER A. HONEY, GARTEISER & HONEA, PLLC, 3939 BELT LINE RD, STE 100, ADDISON, TX 75001. This correspondent firm has appeared as plaintiff's counsel in this patent's litigation.
  • Context: Transfer from original assignee to an identified patent assertion entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9615204
    2015 : Filed by X One Inc from inventor
    2017 : Issued to X One Inc
    2025 : Assigned to Piney Woods Mobility LLC
    2026 : Litigation filed by Piney Woods

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred from X One Inc., an entity engaged in IP development and past litigation concerning its patents, to Piney Woods Mobility LLC. Piney Woods Mobility LLC is a Texas-based entity that has filed multiple patent infringement lawsuits against major mobile carriers in February 2026, targeting location-sharing services, which aligns with the patent's subject matter. This activity, coupled with the name structure "Mobility LLC," strongly indicates a licensing-only shell entity, especially given the existence of an unrelated business named "Pineywoods Mobile Blasting" in East Texas, which performs dustless sandblasting. (Reel 065586/0200, executed 2025-11-24, recorded 2025-12-08).

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Piney Woods Mobility LLC is actively asserting this patent. It has filed patent infringement lawsuits against AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Samsung Electronics in February 2026 in the Eastern and Western District Courts of Texas. (Current assignee, Reel 065586/0200, executed 2025-11-24, recorded 2025-12-08).

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. While there isn't a repeat correspondent within this specific two-assignment chain, Christopher A. Honea of Garteiser & Honea, PLLC is the correspondent for the transfer to Piney Woods Mobility LLC (Reel 065586/0200). Garteiser & Honea, PLLC is also explicitly listed as the plaintiff's counsel for Piney Woods Mobility LLC in the 2026 patent infringement lawsuits, indicating a firm frequently involved in patent assertion.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There are only two recorded assignments, not multiple consecutive transfers.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The patent was assigned to Piney Woods Mobility LLC on November 24, 2025 (executed) and recorded on December 8, 2025 (Reel 065586/0200). Litigation naming this patent commenced in February 2026, approximately 2-3 months after the assignment, which is well within the 6-month threshold.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no information to suggest the original assignee, X One Inc., underwent bankruptcy proceedings leading to this transfer.

7. Privateering — Unclear. X One Inc. is an IP-focused company that has been involved in previous patent assertions. The transfer to Piney Woods Mobility LLC could potentially be a privateering arrangement, but there is no explicit public evidence (e.g., SEC filings detailing such an agreement) to confirm this.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The current assignee, Piney Woods Mobility LLC, is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is supported by multiple strong signals: the transfer to Piney Woods Mobility LLC, a confirmed shell entity with no operating products relevant to the patent's technology (Reel 065586/0200); the active assertion of this patent by Piney Woods Mobility LLC in multiple lawsuits filed in February 2026; and the clear pre-litigation timing of the assignment (executed November 24, 2025, recorded December 8, 2025) which precedes the lawsuits by just a few months (Reel 065586/0200). Furthermore, the correspondent for the transfer to Piney Woods Mobility LLC is a firm known for its involvement in patent assertion.

Verification: USPTO Assignment Center, Patent Number 9615204