There almost certainly is, which is part of the reason the judge is poking this - "ownership" includes control and if they aren't really in control they're not really the patent 'owner' and that could change things.

Also judges in general don't like people being "clever".

“Dude you made 11k from this and now you’re in court. Judge is pissed, you might be in over your head. Sell me the patents for 10k, and we all can move on.”