Assignment history

Inventors

• Woojin AHN (SK Telecom Co Ltd / Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc)
• Yongho Kim (SK Telecom Co Ltd / Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc)
• Jinsam Kwak (SK Telecom Co Ltd / Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc)
• Juhyung Son (SK Telecom Co Ltd / Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc)

At the time of filing, the inventors were associated with both SK Telecom Co Ltd and Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc. No unusual patterns of inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing are determinable from the provided information.

Original assignee

SK Telecom Co Ltd and Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc.
SK Telecom is a South Korean telecommunications company that offers wireless communication services, fixed-line broadband, and other related products. Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc. is involved in wireless communication technology research and development. It is unclear from the provided information whether SK Telecom Co Ltd shipped a product embodying the claims of this specific patent. SK Telecom Co Ltd is currently an operating company. Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc. is also an operating entity.

Assignment timeline

• 2024-06-20 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-20 — Reel 063384/0831
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: SK TELECOM CO., LTD.
  • Assignee: WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC.
  • Correspondent: BAE, KIM & LEE IP LAW GROUP, 12F, ASEMA TOWER, 517, YEONGDONG-DAERO, GANGNAM-GU, SEOUL, KOREA
  • Context: Transfer of assignor's interest from one original co-assignee to another original co-assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11716171B2
    2015 : Priority date
    2021 : Application filed by SK Telecom & Wilus
    2023 : Issued to SK Telecom & Wilus
    2024 : Assigned to Wilus Institute of Standards

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The transfer was between two original co-assignees, both appearing to be operating companies. Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc. is an active research and development entity, not a shell company.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Neither SK Telecom Co Ltd nor Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc. appear on common NPE lists.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. Only one assignment record is present in the provided information (Reel 063384/0831), so recurrence cannot be determined. The correspondent is BAE, KIM & LEE IP LAW GROUP.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. Only one assignment is recorded for this patent.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. While litigation is noted on Google Patents, the specific filing dates of the lawsuits are in 2025 (IPR2025-01110, 2:25-cv-00070, 2:25-cv-00069), after the assignment date of 2024-06-20. The gap is more than 6 months.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy for either SK Telecom Co Ltd or Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc.
7. Privateering — not present. No evidence from the assignment records or provided information suggests privateering.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not end at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion
The patent was initially assigned to two operating companies, SK Telecom Co Ltd and Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc. The single recorded assignment is a transfer of SK Telecom Co Ltd's interest to Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc. (Reel 063384/0831), indicating that Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc., an active R&D entity, now holds the full patent rights and has engaged in litigation.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/