Assignment history

Inventors

• Stephen W. Keckler
• Boris Grot

At the time of filing, both inventors were affiliated with the University of Texas System. There is no information to suggest an unusual pattern of inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is the University of Texas System.

The University of Texas System is a public university system primarily engaged in education, research, and healthcare. As a research institution, it does not typically ship products embodying patented claims but rather focuses on research and technology transfer through licensing. The University of Texas System is currently operating and is one of the largest public university systems in the United States.

Assignment timeline

Here is the chronological list of every recorded assignment for US8307116B2, based on USPTO Assignment Center records:

• 2009-06-16 (executed) / recorded 2011-06-21 — Reel 027131/0009

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BORIS GROT, STEPHEN W. KECKLER
  • Assignee: BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM
  • Correspondent: GUNN, LEE & CAVINESS, P.C. (201 E. 5th Street, Suite 2200, Charlotte, NC 28202)
  • Context: Original assignment of patent rights from the inventors to the university system.

• 2019-01-28 (executed) / recorded 2019-01-29 — Reel 047180/0411

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC
  • Assignee: CRESTLINE DIRECT FINANCE, L.P.
  • Correspondent: MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP (707 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90017)
  • Context: Patent rights pledged as collateral for a loan by Empire Technology Development LLC. This indicates Empire Technology Development LLC was the owner prior to this event, though no direct assignment to Empire from the University of Texas System is publicly recorded at the USPTO.

• 2019-07-29 (executed) / recorded 2019-07-31 — Reel 047915/0795

  • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
  • Assignor: CRESTLINE DIRECT FINANCE, L.P.
  • Assignee: EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC
  • Correspondent: GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP (333 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90071)
  • Context: Release of the security interest, returning unencumbered control of the patent rights to Empire Technology Development LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US US8307116B2
    2009 : Inventors assign to UT System
    2011 : Assignment recorded
    2012 : Patent issued
    2019 : Empire grants security interest
         : Crestline releases security

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present

   • The patent is currently identified by Google Patents as assigned to EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC. This entity, based on external information (RPX and Unified Patents data), is a known Non-Practicing Entity (NPE) that primarily engages in patent licensing and assertion rather than manufacturing products. The absence of a direct recorded assignment from an operating entity (University of Texas System) to Empire Technology Development LLC, coupled with Empire acting as the grantor of a security interest, suggests it acquired the patent in an unrecorded transaction or as part of a larger portfolio transfer typical of NPEs [cite: 047180/0411, 2019-01-28; 047915/0795, 2019-07-29].

2. Known asserter in the chain — present

   • EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC is a known Non-Practicing Entity (NPE) and a high-frequency plaintiff, as indicated by directories such as those maintained by Unified Patents and RPX. The current ownership by Empire aligns with patterns of patent assertion.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present

   • The correspondents identified for the recorded assignments are GUNN, LEE & CAVINESS, P.C. (Reel 027131/0009), MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP (Reel 047180/0411), and GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP (Reel 047915/0795). These are different firms, and there is no recurrence across the direct assignment chain for this patent.

4. Cascading transfers — not present

   • The recorded events are spread out (2011, then 2019) and do not show multiple consecutive assignments through chained LLCs in a short timeframe. The 2019 events are related to a security interest and its release, not multiple ownership transfers.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear

   • The first recorded litigation case (1:26-cv-00989 in Texas Western District Court) was filed in 2026. The last ownership-related activity (release of security interest to Empire Technology Development LLC) was in 2019-07-31 [cite: 047915/0795]. This gap of over six years means the 2019 transfer (or clarification of ownership) was not immediately pre-litigation for the known 2026 case. The actual transfer date from UT System to Empire is unrecorded, making it difficult to assess this signal precisely.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present

   • The original assignee, University of Texas System, is a large, active public university system and has not undergone bankruptcy. The assignments do not indicate any bankruptcy proceedings for the assignors.

7. Privateering — unclear

   • There is no publicly available information in the patent document or general searches to suggest the University of Texas System transferred the patent to EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC specifically to assert it on their behalf against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present

   • The current assignee, EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC, is not a known defensive aggregator like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network. Instead, Empire is known as an entity that engages in patent assertion.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The current ownership by EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC, a well-documented Non-Practicing Entity, is a strong signal [cite: 047915/0795, 2019-07-29]. Although the direct assignment of ownership from the University of Texas System to Empire is not publicly recorded in the USPTO assignment database, Empire acting as the assignor for a security interest in 2019-01-28 (Reel 047180/0411) clearly indicates its ownership prior to the release of that security interest in 2019-07-29 (Reel 047915/0795). This pattern of patent acquisition and holding by a known NPE, without engaging in product manufacturing, strongly points to an assertion-driven strategy.

(For verification, you can search for US8307116B2 at the USPTO Patent Assignment Search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/)