Assignment history

Inventors

The sole named inventor is Theodore S. Rappaport. At the time of the original priority application filing in August 2003, Dr. Rappaport was a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and founder of the Wireless Networking and Communications Group (WNCG). By the time of the continuation application filing in November 2014, he had moved to New York University (NYU) where he is the founding director of NYU WIRELESS. There are no unusual patterns, as Dr. Rappaport has remained a prominent academic and inventor in the wireless communications field throughout the patent's prosecution and enforcement.

Original assignee

The patent was issued to the inventor, Theodore S. Rappaport, as an individual. The "Original Assignee" is listed as "Individual" on the patent face. As an individual inventor and academic, he did not ship a commercial product embodying the claims; the invention pertains to a method and system for a wireless relay.

Assignment timeline

A search of the USPTO Patent Assignment database for US patent 9,667,337 reveals a single recorded assignment.

• 2024-12-20 (executed) / recorded 2024-12-31 — Reel 066371/0219
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Theodore S. Rappaport
  • Assignee: Massively Broadband LLC (a Virginia Limited Liability Company)
  • Correspondent: Joseph D. Garon, Garlick & Markison, LLP, 16340 Park Ten Place, Suite 235, Houston, TX 77084
  • Context: This transfer moved the patent from the individual inventor to a newly formed LLC, likely for the purpose of licensing and assertion.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9667337
    2003 : Priority application filed
    2014 : Continuation application filed by Rappaport
    2017 : Issued to Theodore S Rappaport
    2024 : Assigned to Massively Broadband LLC
    2025 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. Per Reel 066371/0219, the patent was transferred on 2024-12-20 from the inventor to Massively Broadband LLC. This entity appears to be a holding company for the purpose of assertion, as it was formed shortly before litigation and does not appear to have commercial products.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. The current assignee, Massively Broadband LLC, is a known patent asserter. It initiated litigation in the Eastern District of Texas (Case 2:25-cv-00608) shortly after acquiring the patent, a fact noted in public litigation data from Unified Patents.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. There is only a single assignment recorded, so no pattern of recurrence can be established for the correspondent, Joseph D. Garon of Garlick & Markison, LLP.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There is only one recorded assignment from the original inventor to the current assignee.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment to Massively Broadband LLC was executed on 2024-12-20 (recorded 2024-12-31), just before the filing of an infringement suit in 2025 (Case 2:25-cv-00608). This timing strongly indicates the transfer was made to prepare for and enable the assertion campaign.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The assignor was the original inventor, not a company in bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — Not present. This is not a case of a large operating company transferring patents to an NPE to sue competitors. It is a direct monetization effort by the original inventor through a dedicated LLC.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain ends at Massively Broadband LLC, a plaintiff entity, not a defensive aggregator like RPX or LOT Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The verdict is driven by multiple strong, classic signals of NPE activity. The patent was transferred from the inventor to a dedicated LLC, Massively Broadband LLC, immediately prior to litigation (Reel 066371/0219, executed 2024-12-20). This assignee is a known patent plaintiff, having filed suit in the Eastern District of Texas (2:25-cv-00608) shortly after the transfer, confirming the entity was established for assertion.

Verification link: USPTO Assignment Search for Pat. 9667337