Assignment history

Inventors

• Carlos A. Pérez LaFuente (employer at time of filing not explicitly stated, but patent was assigned to AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL)

Original assignee

AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL.
Their primary line of business appears to be consulting and technologies, likely including intellectual property. It is unclear from the patent document itself whether they shipped a product embodying the claims. Their current status is "Original Assignee" according to Google Patents, and then the patent was reassigned.

Assignment timeline

• 2015-06-12 (executed) / recorded 2015-06-12

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: PEREZ LAFUENTE, CARLOS ALBERTO
  • Assignee: AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES, S.L.
  • Correspondent: AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES, S.L. C/ Basauri 17, 10-2, MADRID, ES E-28023
  • Context: Original assignment from inventor to initial assignee.

• 2023-07-17 (executed) / recorded 2023-07-20 — Reel 059904/0488

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL
  • Assignee: AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL J. KELLEHER; KELLEHER LAW FIRM, PLLC. 15444 N. GREENWOOD AVE, STE 100 PMB 805, SEATTLE, WA 98133-7764
  • Context: Transfer to a new entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9622032
    2006 : Priority date
    2015 : Application filed by AFIRMA
    2017 : Granted
    2023 : Assigned to AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The transfer from AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL to AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC on 2023-07-17 (recorded 2023-07-20, Reel 059904/0488) suggests this. While AFIRMA appears to be an operating company based on its name, AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC's name and the context of subsequent litigation (not detailed here but often associated with such transfers) are indicative of a licensing-focused entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — present. While not explicitly listed on major public NPE lists in the provided text, Avant Location Technologies LLC has filed litigation related to this patent. Unified Patents lists litigation cases for Avant Location Technologies LLC in various Texas District Courts and a PTAB case.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. The correspondent for the initial assignment to AFIRMA was AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES, S.L. itself. The correspondent for the transfer to AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC was MICHAEL J. KELLEHER of KELLEHER LAW FIRM, PLLC. These are different.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one transfer after the initial assignment from the inventor.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The assignment to AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC was on 2023-07-17. The Google Patents legal events section shows multiple litigation cases filed in Texas Eastern District Court, with the earliest one listed being 2:23-cv-00354. The filing date of this case is not precisely given in the provided snippet but would be critical to confirm this signal. If the case was filed within 6 months after July 17, 2023, then this signal would be present.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. No indication of bankruptcy for AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL.

7. Privateering — unclear. There's no information available in the provided text to confirm or deny privateering.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC, which is involved in patent assertion.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The transfer to AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC (Reel 059904/0488 on 2023-07-20) and the subsequent litigation activity by this entity strongly indicate an NPE pattern. Avant Location Technologies LLC appears in multiple litigation records in Texas District Courts, as noted in the Google Patents legal events, identifying it as an active asserter.

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