Assignment history

Inventors

• Woojin AHN (SK Telecom Co Ltd)
• Yongho Kim (SK Telecom Co Ltd)
• Jinsam Kwak (SK Telecom Co Ltd)
• Juhyung Son (SK Telecom Co Ltd)

There are no unusual patterns indicating all inventors departing the original assignee.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent is SK Telecom Co Ltd. SK Telecom Co Ltd is a major South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and is part of the SK Group. They provide wireless communication services, including mobile phones, wireless data, IoT solutions, enterprise communications, and fixed-line telecommunications services such as broadband internet and IPTV. They are an operating company that ships products embodying the claims. As of Q4 2023, SK Telecom was the largest wireless carrier in South Korea with 23 million subscribers, and they continue to be active in the telecommunications industry.

Assignment timeline

• 2024-06-20 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-20 - Reel 063304/0628
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: SK Telecom Co Ltd
  • Assignee: WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC.
  • Correspondent: SUHYUN KIM, WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC., P.O. BOX 1928, DAEJEON, 34019, KOREA (REPUBLIC OF)
  • Context: Transfer to a new entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10911186
    2019 : Filed by SK Telecom Co Ltd
    2021 : Issued to SK Telecom Co Ltd
    2024 : Assigned to Wilus Institute

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The patent was transferred from SK Telecom Co Ltd, a large operating telecommunications company, to WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC. (Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc). The assignee name "Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc" with "Institute of Standards and Technology" suggests a potential focus on intellectual property licensing or standards rather than product manufacturing. There is no readily available information indicating that Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc ships products embodying the claims. The correspondent's address being in South Korea for a US patent further suggests a non-operating focus within the US market for this entity. This is supported by the assignment recorded on Reel 063304/0628.

2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Based on the available information, neither SK Telecom Co Ltd nor WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC. are identified on public NPE lists from RPX Insurance or Unified Patents, nor do they match other common NPE names.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. There is only one recorded assignment for this patent in the USPTO Assignment Center. Therefore, no recurrence of a correspondent can be identified within this specific chain.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one recorded assignment in the chain since issuance.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. While there is an IPR case (IPR2025-01111) filed against this patent in 2025, and two US district court cases filed in Texas Eastern District Court in 2025, the transfer to Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc occurred on June 20, 2024 (recorded on Reel 063304/0628). This transfer date falls within six months of the litigation filings, which could indicate a pre-litigation transfer. However, without further details about the specific dates of the initial complaints in these cases, it remains unclear.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. SK Telecom Co Ltd is an active and operating company, and there is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings.

7. Privateering — unclear. While the transfer is from an operating company to an entity with a name suggesting a focus on standards and technology (which could be a licensing-focused entity), there is no explicit evidence from SEC filings or other public sources to suggest SK Telecom Co Ltd is directly benefiting from assertion against its competitors by Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator like RPX, Allied Security Trust (AST), LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence

The transfer from a major operating company (SK Telecom Co Ltd) to an entity with a name suggesting a non-practicing nature (WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC.) coupled with the timing of the transfer within six months of known litigation filings (IPR2025-01111, 2:25-cv-00070, 2:25-cv-00069) points towards an NPE assertion pattern. The correspondent for the assignment, SUHYUN KIM, WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC., P.O. BOX 1928, DAEJEON, 34019, KOREA (REPUBLIC OF) on Reel 063304/0628, further supports this by indicating an IP-focused entity.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US10911186: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/#!/assignment-view/US10911186/1