Assignment history

Inventors

• Takeshi Harada. At the time of filing (2004-12-02), Takeshi Harada was an employee of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd, as evidenced by the immediate assignment of rights to the company on the same date.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd.

• Product embodying claims: Yes. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd (later Panasonic Corporation) was a diversified electronics manufacturer that produced a wide range of products containing semiconductor devices. The patent claims relate to semiconductor device interconnection structures, which are fundamental to integrated circuits used in their products.
• Primary line of business: Global manufacturer of consumer electronics, home appliances, industrial electronics, and various electrical components.
• Current status: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd was officially renamed Panasonic Corporation in 2008 and is currently an operating company. The specific legal entity Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd no longer operates under that name.

Assignment timeline

The following assignments are derived from the legal events listed on the Google Patents page for US7439623. Specific reel/frame, recording dates, and correspondent information are not provided in the source text.

• 2004-12-02 (executed) / recorded N/A — Reel N/A

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Takeshi Harada
  • Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd
  • Correspondent: N/A (Information not provided in source text)
  • Context: Initial assignment from inventor to corporate entity.

• 2009-03-23 (executed) / recorded N/A — Reel N/A

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd
  • Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
  • Correspondent: N/A (Information not provided in source text)
  • Context: Corporate name change from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd to Panasonic Corporation.

• 2020-05-27 (executed) / recorded N/A — Reel N/A

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Panasonic Corporation
  • Assignee: Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd.
  • Correspondent: N/A (Information not provided in source text)
  • Context: Internal corporate transfer or spin-off within the Panasonic group.

• 2024-06-12 (executed) / recorded N/A — Reel N/A

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd.
  • Assignee: Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan
  • Correspondent: N/A (Information not provided in source text)
  • Context: Corporate name change or acquisition of Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd. by Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan.

• 2024-07-30 (executed) / recorded N/A — Reel N/A

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan
  • Assignee: Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC
  • Correspondent: N/A (Information not provided in source text)
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights to an asserting entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7439623
    2004 : Inventor assigned to Matsushita
    2008 : Patent granted
    2009 : Matsushita name change to Panasonic
    2020 : Panasonic internal transfer
    2024 : Nuvoton name change
         : Assigned to Adv Integrated Circuit Process LLC
    2025 : Litigation filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was assigned on 2024-07-30 from Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan, an operating company, to Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC. The assignee's name, including "LLC," and its association with litigation, strongly suggest it operates as a licensing or asserting entity rather than producing products.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC is the current assignee. The patent family is noted to have litigation, including a US district court case (2:25-cv-00324) filed in the Eastern District of Texas in 2025, and PTAB cases (IPR2025-01211, IPR2025-01212) where Unified Patents is a petitioner. This indicates that Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC is an active patent asserter.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Unclear. The provided patent text does not include information regarding the correspondent attorney or firm for any of the recorded assignments.

4. Cascading transfers — Present. The assignment to Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC on 2024-07-30 occurred less than two months after the change of name event to Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan on 2024-06-12, indicating a rapid sequence of transfers leading to the current assignee.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The patent was assigned to Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC on 2024-07-30. The first reported US litigation (2:25-cv-00324) was filed in the Texas Eastern District Court in 2025. This transfer occurred within six months prior to the commencement of litigation.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The assignors in the chain (Matsushita/Panasonic, Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions, Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan) are operating companies, and there is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings in the provided data.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While a transfer from an operating company (Nuvoton) to an asserting entity (Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC) has occurred, the provided text does not contain explicit evidence (e.g., SEC filings, news reports) to confirm a privateering arrangement where Nuvoton is actively sponsoring the assertion.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The current assignee, Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC, is involved in litigation, which is characteristic of an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The verdict is high confidence due to multiple strong signals. The patent was transferred from an operating company (Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan) to Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC, an entity with "LLC" in its name and explicit links to patent litigation (US District Court case 2:25-cv-00324 filed in 2025 and PTAB IPRs). This transfer on 2024-07-30 occurred within six months of the reported first litigation, indicating a pre-litigation transfer pattern. Additionally, there's a cascading transfer pattern with the assignment following closely after a company name change.

Verification of assignment records can be performed at the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/