Assignment history

Inventors

The sole inventor listed for US Patent 8076735 is Chun-Hsien Lin. At the time of filing, Chun-Hsien Lin was employed by United Microelectronics Corp., as indicated by the original assignment of the patent rights from the inventor to United Microelectronics Corp. on September 18, 2009, prior to the patent's filing date [cite: Reel 023323/0944].

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC). UMC is a major global semiconductor foundry, meaning its primary line of business is manufacturing integrated circuits for fabless design companies. As a foundry, UMC ships products embodying semiconductor device claims as part of its manufacturing services. UMC is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2009-09-18 (executed) / recorded 2009-10-02 — Reel 023323/0944
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: LIN, CHUN-HSIEN
  • Assignee: UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORP.
  • Correspondent: WINSTON HSU, P.O. BOX 70, HSINCHU, TAIWAN (R.O.C.)
  • Context: Original assignment from the inventor to the initial corporate assignee.
• 2021-06-18 (executed) / recorded 2021-07-26 — Reel 056991/0292
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
  • Assignee: MARLIN SEMICONDUCTOR LIMITED
  • Correspondent: DAVID G. RASMUSSEN, P.O. BOX 1069, SANDY, UT 84091. This correspondent has been noted on NPE assertion lists.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights from an operating company to a new entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8076735
    2009 : Inventor assigned to UMC
    2011 : Patent Issued
    2021 : UMC assigned to Marlin Semi

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred from United Microelectronics Corp., a large operating semiconductor foundry, to Marlin Semiconductor Limited. Marlin Semiconductor Limited is identified by Unified Patents as a patent monetization entity. The transfer is recorded as Reel 056991/0292, executed 2021-06-18 and recorded 2021-07-26.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Marlin Semiconductor Limited, the current assignee per Reel 056991/0292, is listed as a known Non-Practicing Entity (NPE) and high-frequency plaintiff by Unified Patents.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. David G. Rasmussen, P.O. Box 1069, Sandy, UT 84091, is the correspondent for the 2021-07-26 assignment to Marlin Semiconductor Limited [cite: Reel 056991/0292]. Mr. Rasmussen's name has appeared as counsel for multiple NPEs on assertion lists, as tracked by organizations like Unified Patents.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There are only two assignments recorded post-issuance, and they are not in a rapid sequence between chained LLCs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The patent was assigned to Marlin Semiconductor Limited on July 26, 2021 (recorded date) [cite: Reel 056991/0292]. Marlin Semiconductor Ltd. subsequently filed an infringement suit, Marlin Semiconductor Ltd. v. MediaTek Inc., on November 23, 2021, which is less than six months after the assignment was recorded. This timing indicates the transfer was arranged to enable assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. United Microelectronics Corp. is an active, operating company, and there is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings leading to the sale of this patent.
7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no publicly available information in the patent record or general business news indicating that United Microelectronics Corp. transferred the patent to Marlin Semiconductor Limited with the intent for Marlin to assert it on UMC's behalf against competitors.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain terminates with Marlin Semiconductor Limited, which is an NPE, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence. The assignment chain clearly shows a transfer from an operating company (United Microelectronics Corp.) to Marlin Semiconductor Limited, a known Non-Practicing Entity. This transfer was handled by a correspondent attorney (David G. Rasmussen) associated with NPE activities and occurred within six months prior to the first known infringement lawsuit filed by Marlin Semiconductor Ltd. asserting this patent [cite: Reel 056991/0292, 5].

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