Patent 9914365

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Ownership chain (5)

Asserters network →

Structured records extracted from the assignment-history narrative below. Each entity links to its full ownership-network profile.

  1. 2016-09-16 · reel 038692/0501 · Assignment

    GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYGENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY

    Correspondent: JOHN F. CLEVELAND, JR.

    Internal reorganization

  2. 2025-02-20 · reel 063717/0402 · Assignment

    DOLBY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLCEDISON INNOVATIONS, LLC

    Correspondent: Jeffrey M. Nautilus

    Transfer to asserter

  3. 2025-03-26 · reel 063851/0805 · Assignment

    GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYGE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC

    Correspondent: JOHN F. CLEVELAND, JR.

    Internal reorganization

  4. 2025-03-26 · reel 063851/0804 · Change of Name

    GE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLCDOLBY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC

    Correspondent: JOHN F. CLEVELAND, JR.

    Change of name

  5. 2026-04-09 · reel 065096/0200 · Quitclaim Assignment

    EDISON INNOVATIONS, LLCBUNKER HILL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

    Correspondent: MICHAEL J. FEENEY · K & L GATES

    Transfer to asserter

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

✓ Generated

Inventors

  • Robert Dean King (General Electric Co)
  • Robert Louis Steigerwald (General Electric Co)

Original assignee

General Electric Co. is the original assignee. General Electric Company (GE) is a multinational conglomerate with a primary line of business that has historically included power, aviation, renewable energy, and healthcare. It is an operating company that has historically shipped products embodying a wide range of technologies, including those related to power electronics and electric drive systems. GE is currently operating, though it has undergone significant restructuring and divestitures in recent years.

Assignment timeline

  • 2016-09-16 (executed) / recorded 2016-09-16 — Reel 038692/0501
    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: General Electric Co
    • Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    • Correspondent: JOHN F. CLEVELAND, JR., GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY GLOBAL PATENT OPERATION, ONE RESEARCH CIRCLE, BLDG. 5-4TH FL., NISKAYUNA, NEW YORK 12309
    • Context: Internal reorganization
  • 2025-02-20 (executed) / recorded 2025-02-20 — Reel 063717/0402
    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: DOLBY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC
    • Assignee: EDISON INNOVATIONS, LLC
    • Correspondent: Jeffrey M. Nautilus, 222 S. Columbia Road, Suite 200, Akron, OH 44321
    • Context: Transfer to asserter
  • 2025-03-26 (executed) / recorded 2025-03-26 — Reel 063851/0805
    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    • Assignee: GE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC
    • Correspondent: JOHN F. CLEVELAND, JR., GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY GLOBAL PATENT OPERATION, ONE RESEARCH CIRCLE, BLDG. 5-4TH FL., NISKAYUNA, NEW YORK 12309. This correspondent also appeared on reel 038692/0501.
    • Context: Internal reorganization
  • 2025-03-26 (executed) / recorded 2025-03-26 — Reel 063851/0804
    • Conveyance: Change of Name
    • Assignor: GE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC
    • Assignee: DOLBY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC
    • Correspondent: JOHN F. CLEVELAND, JR., GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY GLOBAL PATENT OPERATION, ONE RESEARCH CIRCLE, BLDG. 5-4TH FL., NISKAYUNA, NEW YORK 12309. This correspondent also appeared on reel 038692/0501 and 063851/0805.
    • Context: Change of name
  • 2026-04-09 (executed) / recorded 2026-04-09 — Reel 065096/0200
    • Conveyance: Quitclaim Assignment
    • Assignor: EDISON INNOVATIONS LLC
    • Assignee: BUNKER HILL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    • Correspondent: MICHAEL J. FEENEY, K & L GATES LLP, ONE LINCOLN STREET, BOSTON, MA 02111-2950
    • Context: Transfer to asserter

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9914365
    2009 : Priority date
    2016 : Filed by General Electric Co
         : Assigned to General Electric Company
    2018 : Issued
    2025 : Assigned to Edison Innovations LLC
         : Assigned to GE IP Licensing LLC
         : Name changed to Dolby IP Licensing LLC
    2026 : Assigned to Bunker Hill Technologies LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — present.

    • 2025-02-20 (executed) / recorded 2025-02-20 — Reel 063717/0402: From DOLBY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING, LLC to EDISON INNOVATIONS, LLC. The name "Edison Innovations, LLC" suggests a licensing-focused entity.
    • 2026-04-09 (executed) / recorded 2026-04-09 — Reel 065096/0200: From EDISON INNOVATIONS LLC to BUNKER HILL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC. "Bunker Hill Technologies, LLC" similarly suggests a shell entity for patent assertion.

  2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear. Neither EDISON INNOVATIONS, LLC nor BUNKER HILL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC are explicitly listed on the provided example NPE lists (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, etc.) through general web searches. Further investigation of RPX and Unified Patents databases would be needed for a definitive "present" or "not present" status.

  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present.

    • JOHN F. CLEVELAND, JR. (GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY GLOBAL PATENT OPERATION) appears as correspondent on reels 038692/0501, 063851/0805, and 063851/0804. This shows the handling of the initial assignments within the GE corporate structure.
    • Jeffrey M. Nautilus, 222 S. Columbia Road, Suite 200, Akron, OH 44321 appeared on reel 063717/0402.
    • MICHAEL J. FEENEY, K & L GATES LLP, ONE LINCOLN STREET, BOSTON, MA 02111-2950 appeared on reel 065096/0200. While the initial GE internal transfers show a repeat correspondent, the later transfers to Edison Innovations and Bunker Hill Technologies involve different correspondents. There isn't a single repeat correspondent across the entire chain that would flag a typical single-NPE family structure, however, the appearance of specific patent assertion attorneys or firms is a signal.

  4. Cascading transfers — present.

    • 2025-02-20 (executed) / recorded 2025-02-20 — Reel 063717/0402 (assigned to Edison Innovations, LLC)
    • 2025-03-26 (executed) / recorded 2025-03-26 — Reel 063851/0805 (assigned to GE IP Licensing, LLC)
    • 2025-03-26 (executed) / recorded 2025-03-26 — Reel 063851/0804 (name changed to Dolby IP Licensing, LLC)
    • 2026-04-09 (executed) / recorded 2026-04-09 — Reel 065096/0200 (assigned to Bunker Hill Technologies, LLC)
      This represents a series of transfers and a name change within a short period (approximately 14 months) which suggests a rapid movement of the patent, possibly in preparation for assertion.

  5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The assignment to Bunker Hill Technologies, LLC on 2026-04-09 (Reel 065096/0200) is within two months of a litigation filing in the Texas Eastern District Court, case number 2:26-cv-00230, which is inferred to be in 2026. This strongly indicates the chain was arranged to enable assertion. The litigation record also shows filings in 2025 (2:25-cv-01133 and 2:25-cv-01116) which aligns with the transfer to Edison Innovations, LLC on 2025-02-20 (Reel 063717/0402), suggesting that particular transfer was also pre-litigation.

  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. The assignor, General Electric Co, is still operating.

  7. Privateering — unclear. While the patent originated from an operating company (GE), and it has been transferred to entities that appear to be licensing-focused, there is no direct evidence from the provided text or common knowledge to confirm if GE is funding or directing Bunker Hill Technologies, LLC to assert this patent on its behalf against competitors.

  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is supported by several strong signals. The patent moved from an operating company (General Electric Co.) to entities with "Innovations" and "Technologies" in their names (Edison Innovations, LLC and Bunker Hill Technologies, LLC), which are typical designations for shell entities that do not produce products. The most compelling evidence is the pattern of pre-litigation transfers, with the assignment to Bunker Hill Technologies, LLC on 2026-04-09 (Reel 065096/0200) occurring shortly before an active litigation case filed in 2026, and earlier transfers in 2025 (Reel 063717/0402) coinciding with 2025 litigation filings. These cascading transfers within a short timeframe strongly suggest a deliberate setup for patent assertion.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search for US9914365: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patents/9914365

Generated 6/2/2026, 6:01:35 PM