Assignment history

Inventors

• Junji Hirase (Panasonic Corp)
• Akio Sebe (Panasonic Corp)
• Naoki Kotani (Panasonic Corp)
• Gen Okazaki (Panasonic Corp)
• Kazuhiko Aida (Panasonic Corp)
• Shinji Takeoka (Panasonic Corp)

No unusual patterns are determinable from the provided data regarding inventors departing the original assignee.

Original assignee

The original assignee is Panasonic Corp.
Panasonic Corporation is a major Japanese multinational electronics company that manufactures and sells a wide range of electronic products, including semiconductors. It is highly likely they shipped products embodying the claims given their business. Panasonic Corp is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2006-12-05 (executed) / recorded 2006-12-05 — Reel 018898/0026
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Panasonic Corp
  • Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, 600 13th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005-3096
  • Context: Internal reorg (change of name of assignee)
• 2008-11-24 (executed) / recorded 2008-11-24 — Reel 022067/0342
  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
  • Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, 600 13th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005-3096 (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Internal reorg (change of name)
• 2020-05-27 (executed) / recorded 2020-05-27 — Reel 052063/0013
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Panasonic Corporation
  • Assignee: Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd.
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, 600 13th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005-3096 (This correspondent recurs in this chain.)
  • Context: Internal reorg
• 2024-06-12 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-12 — Reel 066735/0675
  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd.
  • Assignee: Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan
  • Correspondent: Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan, c/o Nuvoton Technology Corp. America, 2727 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95134
  • Context: Internal reorg (change of name)
• 2024-07-30 (executed) / recorded 2024-07-30 — Reel 067086/0150
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan
  • Assignee: Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC
  • Correspondent: Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan, c/o Nuvoton Technology Corp. America, 2727 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95134
  • Context: Transfer to asserter

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7579227
    2006 : Assigned to Matsushita
    2009 : Issued
    2008 : Name changed to Panasonic
    2020 : Assigned to Panasonic Semi
    2024 : Name changed to Nuvoton
         : Assigned to Adv Integrated Circuit

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The patent was assigned to "Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC" on 2024-07-30 (reel 067086/0150). The "LLC" suffix and the generic name suggest a licensing-only entity. Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC is also listed as the "Current Assignee" in Google Patents, which further supports this.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC has been identified in litigation data as a plaintiff. For instance, Unified Patents reports district court cases filed by this entity in the Texas Eastern District Court (e.g., case 2:24-cv-00623, 2:24-cv-00730) and PTAB cases (IPR2025-01076, IPR2025-00828), indicating active assertion.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP appears as the correspondent for the 2006-12-05 assignment (reel 018898/0026) and the 2008-11-24 change of name (reel 022067/0342), and the 2020-05-27 assignment (reel 052063/0013). This indicates a repeat player handling internal transfers. Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan also appears twice (reel 066735/0675 and 067086/0150) but this is consistent with an operating company, where the patent department or legal counsel would handle the assignment recordation.
4. Cascading transfers — present. There are two assignments/name changes in quick succession in 2024: Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan's name change on 2024-06-12 (reel 066735/0675) followed by the assignment to Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC on 2024-07-30 (reel 067086/0150). These occurred within a 2-month period, which is a strong indicator.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The assignment to Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC was recorded on 2024-07-30 (reel 067086/0150). Unified Patents indicates a US case filed in Texas Eastern District Court on 2024-06-12 (case 2:24-cv-00623), which is before the recorded assignment date, suggesting the transfer was in preparation for litigation or to establish standing or venue. However, there is another case filed on 2024-07-30 (2:24-cv-00730), which is the same day as the recorded assignment to the NPE. This strongly suggests a pre-litigation or concurrent-with-litigation transfer.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. No evidence of bankruptcy proceedings for Panasonic or its subsidiaries was found in the assignment records.
7. Privateering — unclear. While the ultimate assignee is an NPE, there's no explicit SEC filing or public reporting provided here to confirm a privateering arrangement with Panasonic or Nuvoton.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain ends with Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC, which is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The presence of multiple strong signals supports this verdict. The patent was transferred to Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC (reel 067086/0150), a known patent asserting entity with "LLC" in its name and ongoing litigation activity. This transfer occurred as part of a cascading sequence of events within a two-month period, directly preceding or coinciding with infringement suits filed in Texas Eastern District Court. These factors collectively indicate a high likelihood of NPE assertion.

Verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ (Search for patent number 7579227)