Assignment history

Inventors

Based on the patent documentation, the inventors are Won-Kyu Kwak, Kwan-Hee Lee, and Seung-Yong Song. At the time of filing, all inventors were associated with the original assignee, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. There is no public information to suggest any unusual departure patterns of the inventors from the company post-filing.

Original Assignee

The original assignee listed on the granted patent is Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. Samsung SDI is a major publicly traded South Korean company that manufactures rechargeable batteries, as well as electronic materials used in semiconductors and displays, including organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The company has a long history of developing and commercializing products, and this patent, concerning an electroluminescence display device, directly relates to its core business in display technology. Samsung SDI is an active operating company.

Assignment Timeline

• 2005-08-25 (executed) / recorded 2006-05-02 — Reel 017562/0268

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: KWAK, WON-KYU; LEE, KWAN-HEE; SONG, SEUNG-YONG
  • Assignee: SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: CHRISTIE, PARKER & HALE, LLP, P.O. BOX 7068, PASADENA, CA 91109-7068
  • Context: This is the initial formal assignment of the invention from the individual inventors to their employer, Samsung SDI, a standard corporate practice.

• 2008-12-12 (executed) / recorded 2008-12-15 — Reel 022024/0026

  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD.
  • Assignee: SAMSUNG MOBILE DISPLAY CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: LEE & HAYES, PLLC, 601 W. RIVERSIDE AVE, STE 1400, SPOKANE, WA 99201
  • Context: This transfer was part of a major corporate restructuring where Samsung SDI's AMOLED display division was merged with Samsung Electronics' mobile LCD division to form a new joint venture, Samsung Mobile Display.

• 2012-07-02 (executed) / recorded 2012-08-29 — Reel 028868/0425

  • Conveyance: MERGER
  • Assignor: SAMSUNG MOBILE DISPLAY CO., LTD.
  • Assignee: SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: LEE & HAYES, PLLC, 601 W. RIVERSIDE AVENUE, SUITE 1400, SPOKANE, WA 99201
  • Context: This assignment reflects another internal reorganization where Samsung Mobile Display was merged into S-LCD (a former joint venture with Sony) and renamed to Samsung Display Co., Ltd., which became Samsung's sole entity for display manufacturing and development.

Timeline Diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7279708
    2005 : Filed with inventors assigning to Samsung SDI
    2007 : Patent Issued
    2008 : Assigned to Samsung Mobile Display
    2012 : Merged into Samsung Display Co

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Not present. All assignees (Samsung SDI, Samsung Mobile Display, Samsung Display) are well-known, large operating companies with substantial manufacturing and R&D operations, not licensing-only shells.
2. Known asserter in the chain: Not present. The Samsung group of companies are major product manufacturers and are not considered non-practicing entities.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Not present. While Lee & Hayes, PLLC handled the last two transfers, these were both internal reorganizations for the same ultimate corporate family. This does not represent a pattern associated with NPEs.
4. Cascading transfers: Not present. The transfers occurred years apart and were documented as part of major, public corporate mergers and reorganizations, not rapid-fire transfers between shell companies.
5. Pre-litigation transfer: Not present. The patent has no litigation history, and the transfers were driven by corporate strategy, not imminent assertion plans. The one PTAB challenge occurred more than a decade after the last transfer.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present. All entities in the chain of title have been and remain financially sound operating companies.
7. Privateering: Not present. The patent has remained within the Samsung corporate family throughout its life.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present. The patent has not been transferred to a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion

The assignment history clearly shows that U.S. Patent 7,279,708 has remained within the Samsung corporate family since its inception. The transfers recorded on reels 022024/0026 (in 2008) and 028868/0425 (in 2012) were a direct result of internal corporate reorganizations to consolidate display-related business units. There are no signals of NPE activity; the patent has always been owned by a major technology manufacturer that commercializes products in the electroluminescent display field.

Verify at: USPTO Patent Assignment Search for Pat. No. 7279708