Assignment history

Inventors

The named inventor for U.S. Patent 9,750,267 is Basant K. Dwivedi. At the time of filing, the employer was Promotion In Motion Cos Inc, which is also the original assignee of the patent. No unusual patterns, such as the inventor departing the original assignee shortly after filing, are determinable from the provided information.

Original assignee

The entity named as the original assignee on the issued patent is Promotion In Motion Cos Inc.

Products Embodied by Claims: Yes, Promotion In Motion (now PIM Brands Inc.) is a leading manufacturer and marketer of confections, fruit snacks, and other fine foods, including brands like Welch's® Fruit Snacks, Sour Jacks®, and Sun-Maid® Chocolate Raisins. The patent explicitly pertains to a "Fruit snack with probiotics," which aligns directly with their product lines.

Primary Line of Business: The company's primary line of business is the manufacturing and marketing of popular brand name snacks and confections.

Current Status: The company is currently operating. In June 2021, Promotion In Motion Inc. rebranded to PIM Brands Inc. and moved its global headquarters to Park Ridge, N.J. PIM Brands Inc. remains part of The Promotion In Motion Family of Companies.

Assignment timeline

• 2008-10-23 (executed) / recorded 2008-11-04 — Reel 021780/0073

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: DWIVEDI, BASANT K.
  • Assignee: THE PROMOTION IN MOTION COMPANIES, INC., NEW JERSE
  • Correspondent: Not determinable from the provided source.
  • Context: Initial assignment from inventor to the original assignee.

• 2008-10-23 (executed) / recorded 2020-04-14 — Reel 052397/0669

  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: DWIVEDI, BASANT K.
  • Assignee: PROMOTION IN MOTION, INC., NEW JERSEY
  • Correspondent: Not determinable from the provided source.
  • Context: Corrective assignment to update the legal name of the assignee previously recorded.

• 2020-05-12 (executed) / recorded 2020-05-13 — Reel 052652/0601

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: THE PROMOTION IN MOTION COMPANIES, INC.
  • Assignee: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, PENNSYLVANIA
  • Correspondent: Not determinable from the provided source.
  • Context: Security interest granted by the assignee to PNC Bank.

• 2020-05-12 (executed) / recorded 2020-05-13 — Reel 052652/0623

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignors: PROMOTION IN MOTION, INC.; PIM BRANDS LLC
  • Assignee: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, PENNSYLVANIA
  • Correspondent: Not determinable from the provided source.
  • Context: Additional security interest granted by the assignee and its affiliate to PNC Bank.

• 2022-12-20 (executed) / recorded 2022-12-20 — Reel 062157/0006

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignors: PROMOTION IN MOTION, INC.; PIM BRANDS LLC; PHARMA IN MOTION LLC
  • Assignee: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, PENNSYLVANIA
  • Correspondent: Not determinable from the provided source.
  • Context: Further security interest granted by the assignee and its affiliates to PNC Bank.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9750267
    2008 : Filed by Promotion In Motion Cos Inc
         : Assigned inventor to Promotion In Motion Cos Inc
    2017 : Issued
    2020 : Corrective assignment
         : Security interest to PNC Bank
         : Security interest to PNC Bank
    2021 : Promotion In Motion Inc rebrands to PIM Brands Inc
    2022 : Security interest to PNC Bank

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The patent has remained with the operating company, Promotion In Motion (now PIM Brands Inc.), or its secured creditor (PNC Bank) for financing purposes. There is no evidence of a transfer to a licensing-only LLC.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Neither Promotion In Motion/PIM Brands Inc. nor PNC Bank are identified as known patent asserters on public NPE lists.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. Correspondent information (attorney name, firm, address) is not explicitly provided in the Google Patents legal events section, so recurrence cannot be assessed.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are no multiple consecutive transfers of ownership through chained LLCs. The assignments largely reflect the initial inventor-to-company transfer, a corrective assignment, and subsequent security interests.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The litigation summary states no infringement lawsuits have been identified for this patent. Therefore, no pre-litigation transfer could have occurred.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Promotion In Motion/PIM Brands Inc. is an active, operating company, not identified as being in bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — not present. There is no evidence of the operating company transferring the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not end at any known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Insufficient data. While the patent appears to be held by an operating company (PIM Brands Inc.) and has not been involved in litigation, the lack of explicit correspondent information prevents a definitive assessment of some NPE signals, particularly "Repeat correspondent across the chain." However, based on the available information, there are no strong indicators of NPE activity; the transfers primarily involve the inventor, the operating company, and a bank for security interests (Reel 021780/0073, Reel 052397/0669, Reel 052652/0601, Reel 052652/0623, Reel 062157/0006).

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ (search for patent number 9750267).