Assignment history

Inventors

• Dyi-chung Hu: Employer not determinable from the patent text or search results.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Individual. However, Google Patents lists the "Current Assignee" as TOPWIRE LLC. Given the later assignment record, it's more accurate to treat TOPWIRE LLC as the first recorded assignee of record.

TOPWIRE LLC's primary line of business and whether they ship a product embodying the claims are not explicitly stated in the patent or readily determinable from the search results. However, the ongoing litigation against Samsung and Apple suggests a focus on patent assertion rather than product manufacturing. TOPWIRE LLC is currently an operating entity, actively asserting its patents.

Assignment timeline

• 2025-03-14 (executed) / recorded 2025-04-27 — Reel 071083/0509
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: HU, DYI-CHUNG, DR.
  • Assignee: TOPWIRE LLC
  • Correspondent: Not specified in available data.
  • Context: Transfer-to-asserter (from inventor to LLC)

If there are more assignments, they are not publicly recorded in the USPTO Assignment Center as of today's date.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9859202
    2016 : Filed by Dyi-chung Hu
    2018 : Issued
    2025 : Assigned to TOPWIRE LLC
         : First infringement suits filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was assigned from the individual inventor, Dyi-chung Hu, to TOPWIRE LLC. TOPWIRE LLC's name, lack of apparent product sales, and current activity primarily as a plaintiff in patent infringement lawsuits (as evidenced by the ongoing district court cases against Samsung and Apple) strongly indicate it functions as a licensing-only or assertion-focused entity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. While TOPWIRE LLC is actively asserting this patent, it does not currently match the names of the high-frequency plaintiffs or known NPEs provided in the prompt (e.g., Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, Intellectual Ventures, IPNav, Wi-LAN, Mosaid/Conversant, Vringo, Pendrell, Innovatio IP Ventures, MPHJ Technology, Lumen View Technology, Round Rock Research, Document Generation Corp, Erich Spangenberg entities).
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. Only one assignment is recorded, and the correspondent information is not available in the provided data.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. Only one assignment is recorded.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment to TOPWIRE LLC was executed on March 14, 2025, and recorded on April 27, 2025 (Reel 071083/0509). The first infringement suits against Samsung and Apple were filed on December 1, 2025. This transfer occurred within six months of the initial litigation filings, indicating a likely strategic transfer to enable assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for the inventor or TOPWIRE LLC.
7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no publicly available information to suggest an operating company transferred the patent to TOPWIRE LLC to assert on its behalf against competitors.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently held by TOPWIRE LLC, which is actively asserting it, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on two strong signals: the transfer of the patent from the individual inventor to a named LLC (TOPWIRE LLC) with no apparent product sales (indicating a shell entity), and the timing of this transfer within six months prior to the filing of infringement lawsuits against major technology companies. These actions are highly indicative of a patent assertion entity's operating model.

Verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/