Assignment history

Inventors

• Yukari Suginaka (Panasonic Corp)
• Toshifumi Hamaguchi (Panasonic Corp)
• Yoshitaka Kitao (Panasonic Corp)
• Shinya Muramatsu (Panasonic Corp)

No unusual patterns, such as all inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing, are immediately determinable from the provided information.

Original assignee

The original assignee is Panasonic Corp. Panasonic is a multinational electronics corporation that manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including those that could embody the claims related to microcontrollers and power management, such as consumer electronics and industrial devices. Panasonic Corp is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2008-02-25 (executed) / recorded 2008-02-25 — Reel 020619/0073

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: HAMAGUCHI, TOSHIFUMI; KITAO, YOSHITAKA; Muramatsu, Shinya; SUGINAKA, YUKARI (inventors)
  • Assignee: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, 600 13TH STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20005
  • Context: Transfer from inventors to corporate entity.

• 2008-11-21 (executed) / recorded 2008-11-21 — Reel 022204/0622

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
  • Assignee: PANASONIC CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD., C/O MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, 600 13TH STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20005. This correspondent includes the same law firm as the previous entry.
  • Context: Corporate name change from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. to Panasonic Corporation.

• 2014-01-13 (executed) / recorded 2014-01-13 — Reel 031024/0071

  • Conveyance: Lien
  • Assignor: COLLABO INNOVATIONS, INC.
  • Assignee: PANASONIC CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: PANASONIC CORPORATION, C/O MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, 600 13TH STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20005. This correspondent includes the same law firm as previous entries.
  • Context: Lien placed by Panasonic Corporation on patent owned by Collabo Innovations, Inc.

• 2014-05-26 (executed) / recorded 2014-05-26 — Reel 031526/0046

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: PANASONIC CORPORATION
  • Assignee: COLLABO INNOVATIONS, INC.
  • Correspondent: NELSON BUMGARDNER CONROY, P.C., 701 BRAZOS STREET, SUITE 500, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701.
  • Context: Transfer of patent from operating company (Panasonic) to Collabo Innovations, Inc.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7930575
    2007 : Application filed by Panasonic
    2008 : Assigned to Matsushita
         : Matsushita changes name to Panasonic
    2011 : Issued
    2014 : Lien by Panasonic on Collabo Innovations
         : Assigned to Collabo Innovations Inc
    2019 : PTAB cases filed (not instituted)
    2024 : US case filed Texas Western District

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The transfer from Panasonic Corporation to Collabo Innovations, Inc. (Reel 031526/0046) is a strong signal. Collabo Innovations, Inc. appears to be a licensing-focused entity, involved in multiple patent litigations, and its identified business operations (e.g., IT consulting, web design, urban planning) do not directly relate to manufacturing microcontrollers. The repeated involvement in patent litigation (PTAB and District Court cases) also points to an assertion-centric business model.
2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear. Collabo Innovations Inc. has been identified as a plaintiff in patent infringement lawsuits. While not on the provided public NPE lists (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, etc.), its litigation activity aligns with characteristics of a non-practicing entity. Unified Patents has challenged patents owned by NPEs by filing inter partes reviews, and there are IPRs filed against US7930575, which Unified Patents may be involved in, suggesting Collabo Innovations Inc. is perceived as an NPE.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. McDermott Will & Emery LLP appears as the correspondent for the transfer from inventors to Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Reel 020619/0073) and the subsequent name change to Panasonic Corporation (Reel 022204/0622). They also appear as the correspondent for Panasonic Corporation in the lien against Collabo Innovations, Inc. (Reel 031024/0071).
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are no multiple consecutive assignments through chained LLCs in a short period.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The assignment to Collabo Innovations, Inc. was recorded on 2014-05-26 (Reel 031526/0046). The earliest identified litigation for this specific patent is a US case filed in Texas Western District Court in 2018, which is more than 6 months after the assignment. There is also a more recent case filed in 2024.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of Panasonic Corp filing for bankruptcy and selling off its patent portfolio.
7. Privateering — unclear. While Panasonic transferred the patent to Collabo Innovations, Inc., there is no readily available information in the provided search results to definitively state if Collabo Innovations, Inc. is asserting the patent on Panasonic's behalf against competitors.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator like RPX, Allied Security Trust, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The transfer of the patent from an operating company (Panasonic Corporation) to Collabo Innovations, Inc. (Reel 031526/0046), coupled with Collabo Innovations, Inc.'s documented history of patent litigation and the involvement of Unified Patents in challenging patents it owns (as indicated by the IPR filings), strongly suggests an NPE assertion pattern. The recurrence of McDermott Will & Emery LLP as correspondent across early chain links further supports the structured management of this intellectual property.

USPTO Assignment Center Search for US7930575