Assignment history

Inventors

• Junichi Abe (NEC Corp)
• Tatsuya Nakamura (NEC Corp)

Both inventors were employed by NEC Corporation at the time of filing, the original assignee. No unusual patterns, such as all inventors departing within 12 months of filing, were observed.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is NEC Corporation.
NEC Corporation is a multinational information technology and electronics company that provides IT services, communication networks, and related products and solutions. As a major operating company in the optical communication sector, it is highly probable that NEC Corporation shipped products embodying the claims of this patent. NEC Corporation is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2024-03-01 (executed) / recorded 2024-03-21 — Reel 060803/0369
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: NEC CORPORATION
  • Assignee: NEC ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD.
  • Correspondent: KENJI MOTEGI; OBLON MCCLELLAND MAIER & NEUSTADT L.L.P.; 1940 DUKE STREET; ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314.
  • Context: Internal reorganization or regional transfer within the NEC corporate structure.
• 2024-09-03 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-03 — Reel 061214/0831
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: NEC ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD.
  • Assignee: IP WAVE PTE. LTD.
  • Correspondent: GREGORY D. STEVENS; KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP; 1114 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS; NEW YORK, NY 10036. This correspondent recurs later in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer from an operating company subsidiary to a likely patent licensing entity.
• 2025-10-02 (executed) / recorded 2025-11-13 — Reel 062973/0187
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: IP WAVE PTE. LTD.
  • Assignee: PLS XLIV LLC
  • Correspondent: GREGORY D. STEVENS; KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP; 1114 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS; NEW YORK, NY 10036. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer between shell entities.
• 2025-10-01 (executed) / recorded 2025-11-13 — Reel 062973/0200
  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: PLS XLIV LLC
  • Assignee: RADIANT PATENTS LLC
  • Correspondent: GREGORY D. STEVENS; KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP; 1114 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS; NEW YORK, NY 10036. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Name change of the patent owner to a known patent assertion entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10924188
    2020 : Filed by NEC Corp
    2021 : Issued
    2024 : Assigned to NEC Asia Pacific
         : Assigned to IP Wave PTE LTD
    2025 : Assigned to PLS XLIV LLC
         : Name changed to Radiant Patents LLC
    2026 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred to IP WAVE PTE. LTD. (Reel 061214/0831), which is recognized as a patent aggregator. Subsequently, it was transferred to PLS XLIV LLC (Reel 062973/0187), a generic LLC name, which then underwent a name change to Radiant Patents LLC (Reel 062973/0200), an entity with "Patents LLC" in its name, commonly indicative of a licensing-only operation.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Radiant Patents LLC, the current assignee (Reel 062973/0200), is the plaintiff in active litigation involving this patent (Radiant Patents LLC v. Nokia Corporation et al., 2:26-cv-00074). IP WAVE PTE. LTD., a prior assignee (Reel 061214/0831), is also identified as a patent aggregator. [cite: unifiedpatents.com]
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Gregory D. Stevens of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP is listed as the correspondent for the assignments on Reels 061214/0831, 062973/0187, and 062973/0200. This recurrence across multiple transfers is a strong signal.
4. Cascading transfers — Present. The patent was transferred from NEC Asia Pacific to IP WAVE PTE. LTD. (recorded 2024-10-03), then from IP WAVE PTE. LTD. to PLS XLIV LLC (recorded 2025-11-13), and immediately followed by a name change to Radiant Patents LLC (recorded 2025-11-13). This sequence of transfers between shell entities occurred within approximately 13 months, with the final two steps recorded on the same day, indicating a rapid chain of ownership changes characteristic of NPE activity.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment to PLS XLIV LLC (which immediately became Radiant Patents LLC) was recorded on November 13, 2025 (Reel 062973/0187 and 062973/0200). The first infringement suit for this patent was filed on January 26, 2026, which is approximately 2.5 months after the final recorded assignment, falling well within the 6-month pre-litigation window.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The original assignee, NEC Corporation, is a large, operating company and there is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — Present. The patent was originally owned by NEC Corporation, an operating company, and then transferred through a series of entities that ultimately lead to Radiant Patents LLC, a known NPE. This suggests NEC Corporation may have divested the patent to an NPE for enforcement, which aligns with the pattern of privateering.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain terminates with Radiant Patents LLC, which is a patent assertion entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The patent exhibits multiple strong signals consistent with NPE assertion, including transfer from an operating company (NEC Corporation) to known shell entities (IP WAVE PTE. LTD., PLS XLIV LLC) which then became a known patent assertion entity (Radiant Patents LLC). These transfers occurred in a rapid, cascading fashion, with the final assignment taking place shortly before litigation was filed. The consistent use of the same correspondent across multiple transfers further reinforces this conclusion.

USPTO Patent Assignment Search for 10924188