Assignment history

Inventors

• Jungmin Ha (LG Electronics Inc.)
• Sungjin Kim (LG Electronics Inc.)
• Juhwa Cheong (LG Electronics Inc.)
• Junyong Ahn (LG Electronics Inc.)
• Hyungwook Choi (LG Electronics Inc.)
• Wonjae Chang (LG Electronics Inc.)
• Jaesung Kim (LG Electronics Inc.)

Original assignee

LG Electronics Inc. was the original assignee named on the issued patent. LG Electronics Inc. is an operating company that manufactures and ships a wide range of products, including solar cells. Its primary line of business is electronics and home appliances. LG Electronics Inc. is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2022-09-29 (executed) / recorded 2022-09-29 — Reel 059914/0111
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: LG Electronics Inc.
  • Assignee: Shangrao Jinko Solar Technology Development Co., Ltd
  • Correspondent: BAE, KIM & LEE LLC, 137, Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
  • Context: Transfer from original operating company to a solar technology development company.
• 2022-10-18 (executed) / recorded 2022-10-18 — Reel 060017/0101
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Ahn, Junyong; Chang, Wonjae; Cheong, Juhwa; Choi, Hyungwook; Ha, Jungmin; Kim, Jaesung; Kim, Sungjin
  • Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
  • Correspondent: KED & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 420 E. MAIN STREET, SUITE 200, NORRISTOWN, PA 19401. This correspondent has not recurred in other tracked patents on this site.
  • Context: Reassignment of inventor interests back to LG Electronics Inc.
• 2023-12-19 (executed) / recorded 2023-12-19 — Reel 063717/0827
  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: SHANGRAO JINKO SOLAR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD
  • Assignee: Shangrao Xinyuan YueDong Technology Development Co. Ltd
  • Correspondent: BAE, KIM & LEE LLC, 137, Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. This correspondent recurred on 2022-09-29 / 2022-09-29.
  • Context: Change of name of an assignee entity.
• 2024-03-18 (executed) / recorded 2024-03-18 — Reel 064434/0074
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Shangrao Xinyuan Yuedong Technology Development Co., Ltd.
  • Assignee: TRINA SOLAR CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: BRUCE E. GANGNES, Gangnes & Rollo, 1320 E. Shaw Ave, Ste 110, Fresno, CA 93710. This correspondent has not recurred in other tracked patents on this site.
  • Context: Transfer to current assignee, an operating company and patent asserter.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10230009
    2018 : Filed by LG Electronics Inc
    2019 : Issued
    2022 : Assigned to Shangrao Jinko
         : Inventors assigned to LG Elec
    2023 : Shangrao Jinko changed name
    2024 : Assigned to Trina Solar Co

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — unclear. While "Shangrao Jinko Solar Technology Development Co., Ltd" and "Shangrao Xinyuan YueDong Technology Development Co. Ltd" might sound like shell entities, there is no explicit information provided about their products, address, or single-purpose nature to confirm this.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Trina Solar Co., Ltd. is the current assignee and has initiated multiple infringement lawsuits and ITC complaints involving this patent, as detailed in the litigation summary.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. BAE, KIM & LEE LLC appears as the correspondent for both the 2022-09-29 assignment (Reel 059914/0111) and the 2023-12-19 change of name (Reel 063717/0827).
4. Cascading transfers — unclear. There were two transfers in less than 24 months (2022-09-29 and 2024-03-18), with a name change in between. However, without further information on shared addresses or principals for Shangrao Jinko/Xinyuan YueDong, it's unclear if these represent a cascading transfer among closely related shell entities.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The assignment to Trina Solar Co., Ltd. was recorded on 2024-03-18 (Reel 064434/0074). The first listed district court case (1:24-cv-00557-JCG) was filed on 2024-05-08 and the first ITC case (337-TA-1422) on 2024-09-30, placing the transfer within 6 months of the district court filing and within a year of the ITC filing. However, Trina Solar is an operating company, so while the timing is suggestive, it doesn't definitively indicate a "transfer-to-asserter" in the NPE sense.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. The assignment records do not indicate any bankruptcy proceedings for LG Electronics Inc.
7. Privateering — unclear. While Trina Solar is an operating company asserting against competitors, there's no explicit evidence that LG Electronics Inc. transferred the patent to Trina Solar for assertion on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with Trina Solar Co., Ltd., which is an asserting entity.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The patent was originally assigned from LG Electronics Inc., an operating company, to Shangrao Jinko Solar Technology Development Co., Ltd., and eventually to Trina Solar Co., Ltd. (Reel 064434/0074, recorded 2024-03-18). Trina Solar is an operating company in the solar industry that actively manufactures and sells products embodying the claims, and has initiated multiple infringement lawsuits and ITC complaints against competitors.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/