Assignment history

Inventors

• Tomer Shaul Elran. At the time of filing, the patent was assigned to SanDisk IL Ltd., an Israeli subsidiary of SanDisk Corporation. It is therefore likely that Tomer Shaul Elran was an employee or contractor for SanDisk in Israel. There are no unusual patterns, such as inventor departure, discernible from the public record.

Original assignee

• SanDisk IL Ltd. The patent was assigned to SanDisk IL Ltd. upon filing. This entity was a subsidiary of SanDisk Corporation, a major global manufacturer of flash memory storage devices. SanDisk's products, such as solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory cards, extensively used voltage regulator circuits, making it highly probable that the company shipped products embodying the claims of this patent. SanDisk Corporation was acquired by Western Digital in 2016 for $19 billion. Following the acquisition, SanDisk IL Ltd. underwent a name change to Western Digital Israel Ltd.

Assignment timeline

A search of the USPTO Patent Assignment Search database for US 8148962 reveals the following chain of ownership:

• 2009-05-12 (executed) / recorded 2009-05-13 — Reel 022670/0998

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ELRAN, TOMER SHAUL
  • Assignee: SANDISK CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: The Gray-MENG LLP, Fort Collins, CO 80528
  • Context: Standard inventor assignment to the employer at the time of invention.

• 2009-05-12 (executed) / recorded 2009-06-04 — Reel 022756/0593

  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: ELRAN, TOMER SHAUL
  • Assignee: SANDISK IL LTD.
  • Correspondent: The Gray-MENG LLP, Fort Collins, CO 80528 (same correspondent as the initial assignment)
  • Context: An internal correction to assign the patent to the correct corporate subsidiary, SanDisk IL Ltd., rather than the parent, SanDisk Corporation.

• 2020-08-19 (executed) / recorded 2020-08-21 — Reel 053074/0130

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: SanDisk IL Ltd.
  • Assignee: Western Digital Israel Ltd.
  • Correspondent: THE WEBB LAW FIRM, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
  • Context: A corporate name change reflecting the 2016 acquisition of SanDisk by Western Digital.

• 2024-05-31 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-14 — Reel 070054/0001

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Western Digital Israel Ltd.
  • Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC
  • Correspondent: The Webb Law Firm, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 (same correspondent as the name change)
  • Context: An internal reorganization transferring the patent from an Israeli subsidiary to a US-based holding company, SanDisk Technologies LLC, also a subsidiary of Western Digital.

• 2024-08-15 (executed) / recorded 2024-08-15 — Reel 070775/0430

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: SanDisk Technologies LLC
  • Assignee: Palisade Technologies, LLP
  • Correspondent: Rabicoff Law LLC, Houston, TX 77056
  • Context: Transfer from the operating company's holding company to a third-party entity, Palisade Technologies, LLP, which appears to be a non-practicing entity.

• 2024-11-14 (executed) / recorded 2024-11-14 — Reel 071987/0055

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement (Supplemental)
  • Assignor: SanDisk Technologies, Inc.
  • Assignee: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Correspondent: Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York, NY 10022
  • Context: This appears to be a recordation of a security interest against a portfolio of assets, likely related to financing obtained by a prior owner, and may not represent a true change in beneficial ownership for assertion purposes. However, its recording after the transfer to Palisade is noteworthy.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8148962
    2009 : Filed by Tomer Elran
         : Assigned to SanDisk Corp
         : Correctively assigned to SanDisk IL
    2012 : Patent Issued
    2020 : Name change to Western Digital Israel
    2024 : Assigned to SanDisk Technologies LLC
         : Assigned to Palisade Technologies LLP
         : Security interest recorded JPMORGAN

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: present. The August 15, 2024 assignment transfers the patent from SanDisk Technologies LLC (an operating company's IP holding subsidiary) to Palisade Technologies, LLP (Reel 070775/0430). The name "Palisade Technologies" is generic, and an LLP is a common structure for licensing entities. Recent litigation filings confirm Palisade Technologies is an NPE. A Unified Patents portal entry for litigation (Case 7:24-cv-00262, W.D. Tex.) initiated by Palisade Technologies, LLP, confirms its role as an asserter.

2. Known asserter in the chain: present. As noted above, Unified Patents identifies Palisade Technologies, LLP as a patent asserter. This is confirmed by litigation filed in the Western District of Texas in 2024 naming this patent.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: not present (in the problematic sense). While The Webb Law Firm handled multiple internal transfers for SanDisk/Western Digital, the transfer to the asserting NPE, Palisade, was handled by a different correspondent, Rabicoff Law LLC of Houston, TX. This change in correspondent signals the handoff to a third party.

4. Cascading transfers: not present. The transfers were internal reorganizations over many years, followed by a single, clean transfer to the asserting entity.

5. Pre-litigation transfer: present. The patent was assigned to Palisade Technologies, LLP on August 15, 2024 (Reel 070775/0430). Litigation was filed by Palisade asserting this patent in late 2024, well within the six-month window.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: not present. The original assignee, SanDisk, was acquired while solvent.

7. Privateering: unclear. While this is a transfer from an operating company (Western Digital/SanDisk) to an NPE, there is no public evidence of a formal agreement for the NPE to assert the patent on the operating company's behalf against its competitors. It appears to be a straightforward divestment or sale.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): not present. The patent has not been transferred to a known defensive entity.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The ownership chain shows a clear and recent transfer from a major operating company (SanDisk/Western Digital) to Palisade Technologies, LLP, a recognized patent-asserter (Reel 070775/0430, executed 2024-08-15). This transfer was immediately followed by infringement litigation, a classic pre-litigation transfer pattern. The combination of a shell-entity transfer to a known asserter, followed by litigation, provides high confidence that this patent is now being used for NPE assertion.

Verification link: USPTO Patent Assignment Search for US 8148962