Assignment history

Inventors

• Jeffery R. Parker: At the time of filing, Jeffery R. Parker was the inventor and assigned the patent to Solid State Opto Ltd. on October 21, 2005, indicating he was likely employed by or closely associated with Solid State Opto Ltd.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Solid State Opto Ltd.

Solid State Opto Ltd's primary line of business, based on the patent's subject matter, was likely in developing and manufacturing light-emitting panel assemblies, potentially for applications such as LCD backlighting, general illumination, and specialized lighting (e.g., medical, automotive). It is unclear from the patent records whether Solid State Opto Ltd shipped a product embodying the claims. Given the subsequent assignments to patent assertion entities, it is highly probable that Solid State Opto Ltd is no longer operating with this patent as a core asset, or it may be dissolved or inactive in this specific field.

Assignment timeline

• 2005-10-21 (executed) / recorded 2005-12-07 — Reel 030096/0200
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: PARKER, JEFFERY R.
  • Assignee: SOLID STATE OPTO LIMITED
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT, WILL & EMERY LLP, 600 13TH STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005
  • Context: Inventor assigned the patent application to the original corporate assignee.
• 2010-02-18 (executed) / recorded 2010-03-03 — Reel 023901/0173
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: SOLID STATE OPTO LIMITED
  • Assignee: RAMBUS INTERNATIONAL LTD.
  • Correspondent: WEAVER AUSTIN VILLENEUVE & SAMPSON LLP, P.O. BOX 70250, OAKLAND, CA 94612-0250
  • Context: Original assignee transferred ownership to an entity within the Rambus corporate structure.
• 2013-03-04 (executed) / recorded 2013-03-27 — Reel 029676/0970
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: RAMBUS INTERNATIONAL LTD.
  • Assignee: RAMBUS INC.
  • Correspondent: NIXON & VANDERHYE, P.C., 901 N. GLEBE ROAD, 11TH FLOOR, ARLINGTON, VA 22203. This correspondent also handled the subsequent transfer on the same day.
  • Context: Internal corporate restructuring transfer within Rambus entities.
• 2013-03-04 (executed) / recorded 2013-03-27 — Reel 029676/0970
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: RAMBUS INC.
  • Assignee: RAMBUS DELAWARE LLC
  • Correspondent: NIXON & VANDERHYE, P.C., 901 N. GLEBE ROAD, 11TH FLOOR, ARLINGTON, VA 22203. This correspondent also handled the prior transfer on the same day.
  • Context: Internal corporate restructuring transfer within Rambus entities, likely for legal or tax purposes.
• 2013-06-26 (executed) / recorded 2013-07-25 — Reel 030635/0503
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: RAMBUS DELAWARE LLC
  • Assignee: ACACIA RESEARCH GROUP LLC
  • Correspondent: WONG, PAUL H, 110 W. A STREET, SUITE 250, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101. This correspondent handled the subsequent transfer on the next day.
  • Context: Transfer from an operating company (Rambus subsidiary) to a known patent assertion entity (Acacia Research Group LLC).
• 2013-06-27 (executed) / recorded 2013-07-25 — Reel 030635/0503
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: ACACIA RESEARCH GROUP LLC
  • Assignee: INNOVATIVE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: WONG, PAUL H, 110 W. A STREET, SUITE 250, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101. This correspondent handled the prior transfer on the previous day.
  • Context: Transfer from a patent assertion entity to its subsidiary LLC, which is the current assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7300194
    2005 : Inventor to Solid State Opto Ltd
    2007 : Patent issued
    2010 : Assigned to Rambus International
    2013 : Assigned to Rambus Inc
         : Assigned to Rambus Delaware LLC
         : Assigned to Acacia Research Group
         : Assigned to Innovative Display Technologies
    2015 : Patent expired

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.
   • The transfer on 2013-06-26 (Reel 030635/0503) from Rambus Delaware LLC to Acacia Research Group LLC involves a known patent assertion entity.
   • The subsequent transfer on 2013-06-27 (Reel 030635/0503) to Innovative Display Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Acacia Research Corporation, is also a transfer to a shell entity for licensing/assertion purposes.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present.
   • Acacia Research Group LLC became an assignee on 2013-06-26 (Reel 030635/0503). Acacia Research Group LLC is a widely recognized patent assertion entity.
   • Innovative Display Technologies LLC, the current assignee since 2013-06-27 (Reel 030635/0503), is an operating company subsidiary of Acacia Research Corporation, involved in patent assertion.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.
   • Paul H. Wong (110 W. A STREET, SUITE 250, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101) acted as the correspondent for both the 2013-06-26 transfer to Acacia Research Group LLC and the 2013-06-27 transfer to Innovative Display Technologies LLC (Reel 030635/0503). This recurrence of the same attorney handling a sequence of transfers to known NPEs is a strong signal.
4. Cascading transfers — Present.
   • There were four consecutive assignments within a short period in 2013: 2013-03-04 (Rambus International to Rambus Inc.), 2013-03-04 (Rambus Inc. to Rambus Delaware LLC), 2013-06-26 (Rambus Delaware LLC to Acacia Research Group LLC), and 2013-06-27 (Acacia Research Group LLC to Innovative Display Technologies LLC). The last two transfers, in particular, occurred on consecutive days and shared the same correspondent, Paul H. Wong, demonstrating a rapid progression of ownership culminating in a transfer to an NPE and its subsidiary.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present.
   • The transfers to Acacia Research Group LLC (2013-06-26, Reel 030635/0503) and Innovative Display Technologies LLC (2013-06-27, Reel 030635/0503) occurred in June 2013. The Google Patents litigation section shows multiple cases filed in District Courts in 2013, such as 1:13-cv-02106 and 2:13-cv-00524, indicating that these assignments immediately preceded a patent assertion campaign.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence of bankruptcy proceedings for the assignors was found.
7. Privateering — Unclear. The transfer from Rambus Delaware LLC (an operating company subsidiary) to Acacia Research Group LLC (a known NPE) on 2013-06-26 (Reel 030635/0503) is highly suggestive of a privateering arrangement. However, explicit details of such an agreement are not available from the assignment records alone.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The final assignee is an operating subsidiary of Acacia Research Corporation, a known patent assertion entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The assignment chain for US Patent 7300194 exhibits multiple strong signals indicative of an NPE. Specifically, the patent was transferred to Acacia Research Group LLC on 2013-06-26 (Reel 030635/0503), a well-known patent assertion entity, and then immediately to its subsidiary, Innovative Display Technologies LLC, on 2013-06-27 (Reel 030635/0503). These transfers, handled by the same correspondent (Paul H. Wong), were part of a cascading series of assignments that immediately preceded multiple reported infringement lawsuits in 2013.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US7300194: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html?pno=7300194