Assignment history

Inventors

• Tomoyuki Ito (Rohm Co Ltd)
• Yoichi Tamegai (Rohm Co Ltd)
• Koki TAMAKAWA (Rohm Co Ltd)
• Isao Yamamoto (Rohm Co Ltd)

All inventors were likely employed by Rohm Co Ltd at the time of the patent application filing, which is the original assignee. There are no unusual patterns indicating their departure from the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent is Rohm Co Ltd. Rohm Co Ltd is a major Japanese semiconductor manufacturer known for producing a wide range of electronic components, including power supply devices and integrated circuits, making it highly probable they shipped products embodying the claims of US7960955. Rohm Co Ltd is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2007-06-18 to 2007-07-05 (executed) / recorded 2008-06-12 — Reel 021086/0320
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: ITO, TOMOYUKI ET AL (inventors)
  • Assignee: ROHM CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: JAY H. MEADWAY, P O BOX 3022, PRINCETON, NJ 08543
  • Context: Transfer of inventor rights to the original corporate assignee.
• 2025-08-08 (executed) / recorded 2025-08-15 — Reel 072492/0637
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: ROHM CO. LTD.
  • Assignee: REED SEMICONDUCTOR CORP.
  • Correspondent: BARRY P. CAPUANO, C/O REED SEMICONDUCTOR CORP., 1301 ALTAMIRA DRIVE UNIT 1, AUSTIN, TX 78746
  • Context: Transfer from original operating company to Reed Semiconductor Corp.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7960955
    2006 : Application filed by Rohm
    2008 : Assigned to Rohm Co Ltd
    2011 : Patent Issued
    2025 : Assigned to Reed Semiconductor Corp
         : Litigation initiated (TX W.D. Court)
    2026 : PTAB case IPR2026-00165 filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred from Rohm Co Ltd, a large operating semiconductor company, to REED SEMICONDUCTOR CORP. The correspondent address for Reed Semiconductor Corp. (C/O REED SEMICONDUCTOR CORP., 1301 ALTAMIRA DRIVE UNIT 1, AUSTIN, TX 78746) suggests a registered agent or virtual office rather than an operating business with manufacturing or R&D facilities (Reel 072492/0637). Furthermore, Reed Semiconductor Corp. has initiated litigation involving this patent (US case 6:25-cv-00449 and PTAB IPR2026-00165), indicating an assertion-focused entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. REED SEMICONDUCTOR CORP. is actively asserting this patent, as evidenced by the "US case filed in Texas Western District Court" (case 6:25-cv-00449) and the "PTAB case IPR2026-00165 filed (Pending)" where Reed Semiconductor Corp. is the Petitioner. This litigation activity identifies them as a patent asserter.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. The correspondent for the 2008 assignment was JAY H. MEADWAY, and for the 2025 assignment, it was BARRY P. CAPUANO, C/O REED SEMICONDUCTOR CORP. (Reel 021086/0320 and 072492/0637). No recurrence of the same correspondent across the chain.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. Only two assignments are recorded: the initial assignment from inventors to Rohm Co Ltd, and a later single assignment from Rohm Co Ltd to Reed Semiconductor Corp. (Reel 021086/0320 and 072492/0637).

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment to Reed Semiconductor Corp. was executed on 2025-08-08 and recorded on 2025-08-15 (Reel 072492/0637). The Google Patents record indicates a "US case filed in Texas Western District Court" (6:25-cv-00449), implying a filing in 2025, within months of the assignment. This proximity strongly suggests the transfer was made in anticipation of or to facilitate patent assertion.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The assignor, Rohm Co Ltd, is an active, publicly traded company and there is no indication of bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While Rohm Co Ltd transferred the patent to an asserting entity, there is no publicly available information in the assignment records or the provided patent details to confirm a specific privateering arrangement where Reed Semiconductor Corp. asserts on behalf of Rohm Co Ltd.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is currently held by Reed Semiconductor Corp., an entity actively engaged in patent assertion, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The transfer of the patent from a major operating company (Rohm Co Ltd) to REED SEMICONDUCTOR CORP. (Reel 072492/0637, recorded 2025-08-15) is a strong indicator of a shell-entity transfer, further reinforced by Reed Semiconductor Corp.'s litigation activity (US case 6:25-cv-00449 and PTAB IPR2026-00165) and the pre-litigation timing of the assignment. This pattern is highly characteristic of a Non-Practicing Entity.

Verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/