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)

All inventors were likely employed by SK Telecom Co Ltd at the time of filing, as SK Telecom Co Ltd is listed as an original assignee. There is no immediate indication of all inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

SK Telecom Co Ltd (Original Assignee) and Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc (Current Assignee on Google Patents, but original assignee on the patent front page). SK Telecom Co Ltd is a major South Korean telecommunications company. They ship products embodying wireless communication technologies, including those related to the claims. SK Telecom Co Ltd is currently operating. Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc's primary line of business is not immediately determinable from the patent text, but their name suggests a research or standards-focused entity. Their current status is operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2024-06-20 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-20 — Reel 006509/0146
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: SK Telecom Co., Ltd.
  • Assignee: WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC.
  • Correspondent: KED & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 20265 Valley Blvd., Suite F, Walnut, CA, 91789. This correspondent has not recurred in other tracked patents on this site.
  • Context: Internal reorg, transfer to co-owner/joint venture.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11716171
    2021 : Application filed by SK Telecom & Wilus
    2023 : Issued
    2024 : Assigned to Wilus Institute

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — unclear. The transfer is from SK Telecom Co., Ltd. to WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC. While "Institute of Standards and Technology Inc." might sound like a less product-focused entity, there's no concrete evidence from this record alone (e.g., registered-agent address, known lack of products) to definitively categorize Wilus as a shell entity. The original patent also lists Wilus as an original assignee, suggesting they were involved from the start, possibly in a research or development capacity with SK Telecom.

2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Neither SK Telecom Co., Ltd. nor WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC. are listed on common public NPE lists.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. Only one assignment is recorded for this patent, and the correspondent, KED & ASSOCIATES, P.C., has not been flagged as a repeat correspondent for NPEs on this site.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. Only one assignment is recorded.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The assignment was recorded on 2024-06-20. While Unified Patents lists two US cases filed in Texas Eastern District Court (2:25-cv-00069 and 2:25-cv-00070) in 2025, and a PTAB case IPR2025-01110 in 2025, these are more than 6 months after the assignment date.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication that SK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc. has filed for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — not present. There is no information in the assignment record or other public sources to suggest a privateering arrangement.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not end with a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Insufficient data. Only one assignment is recorded, moving from SK Telecom Co., Ltd. to WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC.. While Wilus's name could hint at a non-manufacturing entity, there isn't sufficient information to confirm it as a shell entity or a known NPE. The patent was originally assigned to both entities, suggesting a collaborative or co-ownership arrangement from the outset.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html?cn=11716171