NEC Solutions (America), Inc. ("NEC Solutions America") was a U.S. subsidiary of Japan's NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701; then also traded as NASDAQ ADR "NIPNY"). It was formed April 1, 2002, by merging NEC Technologies, NEC Computers, and NEC Systems, and was headquartered in Sacramento/Rancho Cordova, California, with roughly 800 employees at launch. It was a wholly owned operating subsidiary, not a shell. On July 1, 2006, it was absorbed — along with NEC America and NEC USA — into NEC Corporation of America (NECAM), headquartered in Irving, Texas, where NEC's North American operations remain today. NEC Solutions (America) no longer exists as a separate legal entity.
Operations. NEC Solutions America sold integrated IT solutions to commercial and government customers in North America. Product and service lines included enterprise servers, storage and computing products, biometric/information-security systems, visual display systems and projectors (including its Itasca, Illinois–based Visual Systems division), digital cinema and in-theatre advertising systems, rugged mobile terminals such as the Panel-i line, B2B software and systems integration, and professional IT/IS services targeting healthcare, public safety, financial services, cinema, retail, and manufacturing.
Litigation posture. With one tracked case, zero as plaintiff and one as defendant, this is an operating company defending an infringement suit brought against it — not an NPE. NEC Solutions America was sued by an IP-licensing entity over microprocessor patents, then dismissed when the plaintiff shifted the campaign to a Texas forum.
Notable case. Patriot Scientific Corp. v. Sony Electronics Inc. et al. (N.D. Cal., Oakland) named NEC Solutions (America), Inc. among defendants including Sony, Fujitsu, Matsushita, and Toshiba in a dispute over Patriot's microprocessor clock-speed patent (5,809,336). Patriot dismissed the Oakland action in October 2005 after unifying its portfolio with the TPL Group; TPL/Alliacense then refiled against NEC and others in the Eastern District of Texas (a plaintiff-friendly "rocket docket"), part of the Moore Microprocessor Patent (MMP) licensing campaign. NEC Corporation later purchased an MMP portfolio license in 2007. The case reflects NEC's exposure as a systems/PC seller, not as an active patent plaintiff.
Sources: NEC press releases (2002, 2006); Wikipedia; Rhode Island corporate registration records; EE Times; The Register; Patriot Scientific/Alliacense releases.