Patent 8279642B2

Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Assignment history

Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.

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Inventors

  • Patrick L. Chapman (Solarbridge Technologies Inc.)
  • Brian T. Kuhn (Solarbridge Technologies Inc.)
  • Robert S. Balog (Solarbridge Technologies Inc.)
  • Jonathan W. Kimball (Solarbridge Technologies Inc.)
  • Philip T. Krein (Solarbridge Technologies Inc.)
  • Alexander Gray (Solarbridge Technologies Inc.)

All inventors were associated with Solarbridge Technologies Inc. at the time of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Solarbridge Technologies Inc. Solarbridge Technologies Inc. was an American clean-energy company that developed solar inverters, power conversion systems, and energy management systems. They specialized in solar micro-inverters for photovoltaic arrays, designed to enhance energy output and system reliability. The company shipped products embodying the claims, specifically their Pantheon microinverter, which was mounted directly on solar panels to convert DC power to AC.

Solarbridge Technologies Inc. was acquired by SunPower in the autumn of 2014. In 2018, SunPower sold the former Solarbridge microinverter business to Enphase Energy. The Solarbridge brand was discontinued, until 2025 when it rebranded to SolarBridge Technology Inc., which operates as a separate and independent entity from the earlier business. Therefore, the original assignee, Solarbridge Technologies Inc., was acquired.

Assignment timeline

  • 2010-03-26 (executed) / recorded 2010-03-26 — Reel 024107/0403

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: KREIN, PHILIP T., MR., KIMBALL, JONATHAN W., MR., BALOG, ROBERT S., MR., CHAPMAN, PATRICK L., MR., GRAY, ALEXANDER, MR., KUHN, BRIAN T., MR.
    • Assignee: SOLARBRIDGE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Correspondent: BLANK ROME LLP, 1201 MARKET STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES, 19107-2954
    • Context: Transfer of inventors' interest to the original assignee.

  • 2014-08-28 (executed) / recorded 2014-09-02 — Reel 033013/0091

    • Conveyance: Security Interest
    • Assignor: SOLARBRIDGE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Assignee: SILICON VALLEY BANK
    • Correspondent: MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP, 755 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1018
    • Context: Security interest granted by Solarbridge Technologies Inc. to Silicon Valley Bank.

  • 2014-12-19 (executed) / recorded 2014-12-19 — Reel 033325/0858

    • Conveyance: Release
    • Assignor: SILICON VALLEY BANK
    • Assignee: SOLARBRIDGE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Correspondent: MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP, 755 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1018. This is the same correspondent as the previous entry.
    • Context: Release of security interest by Silicon Valley Bank to Solarbridge Technologies Inc.

  • 2014-12-19 (executed) / recorded 2014-12-19 — Reel 033325/0861

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: SOLARBRIDGE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    • Assignee: SUNPOWER CORPORATION
    • Correspondent: MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP, 755 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1018. This is the same correspondent as the previous two entries.
    • Context: Acquisition of Solarbridge Technologies Inc. by SunPower Corporation.

  • 2018-09-07 (executed) / recorded 2018-09-10 — Reel 042137/0937

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: SUNPOWER CORPORATION
    • Assignee: ENPHASE ENERGY, INC.
    • Correspondent: KEKER, VAN NEST & PETERS LLP, 633 BATTERY STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, 94111-1809
    • Context: Sale of the former Solarbridge microinverter business from SunPower to Enphase Energy, Inc.

  • 2026-04-16 (executed) / recorded 2026-04-21 — Reel 060046/0948

    • Conveyance: Assignment
    • Assignor: POWERBRIDGE NETWORKS, LLC
    • Assignee: GRIDSCALE SOLUTIONS, LLC
    • Correspondent: NEAL, GERBER & EISENBERG LLP, 2 N LASALLE STREET, SUITE 1700, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES, 60602
    • Context: Transfer of assignor's interest from Powerbridge Networks, LLC to Gridscale Solutions, LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8279642B2
    2009 : Filed by Solarbridge Technologies Inc
    2010 : Assigned to Solarbridge Technologies
    2012 : Issued
    2014 : Security interest Silicon Valley Bank
         : Release by Silicon Valley Bank
         : Assigned to SunPower Corporation
    2018 : Assigned to Enphase Energy Inc
    2026 : Assigned to Gridscale Solutions LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer — unclear. While the ultimate assignee, GRIDSCALE SOLUTIONS, LLC, has a generic name, there's no readily available information to confirm it's a licensing-only LLC with no products or a registered-agent address. Enphase Energy Inc. is an operating company. Powerbridge Networks, LLC, the direct assignor to Gridscale, is also unclear in terms of its operational status.

  2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. None of the listed assignees (Solarbridge Technologies Inc., Silicon Valley Bank, SunPower Corporation, Enphase Energy Inc., Powerbridge Networks, LLC, GRIDSCALE SOLUTIONS, LLC) appear on public NPE lists such as those associated with Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, Intellectual Ventures, IPNav, Wi-LAN, Mosaid / Conversant, Vringo, Pendrell, Innovatio IP Ventures, MPHJ Technology, Lumen View Technology, Round Rock Research, Document Generation Corp, Erich Spangenberg entities.

  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Morrison & Foerster LLP appears as the correspondent for three consecutive entries: reel 033013/0091 (2014-09-02), reel 033325/0858 (2014-12-19), and reel 033325/0861 (2014-12-19).

  4. Cascading transfers — present. There are three transfers within a short period in 2014 (August to December): a security interest, a release of that interest, and then an assignment. These three assignments within a 4-month period (executed 2014-08-28 to 2014-12-19) involving Solarbridge Technologies Inc., Silicon Valley Bank, and SunPower Corporation could be considered cascading. Additionally, there's a recent transfer in 2026 from Powerbridge Networks, LLC to GRIDSCALE SOLUTIONS, LLC.

  5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. No litigation has been found for this patent as of April 26, 2026.

  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. While Solarbridge Technologies Inc. was acquired, there is no indication of a bankruptcy fire-sale.

  7. Privateering — unclear. There is no information to suggest that any operating company transferred the patent to an NPE that asserts on its behalf.

  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator like RPX, Allied Security Trust (AST), LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

Insufficient data. While there's a signal of "cascading transfers" in 2014 (reel 033013/0091, reel 033325/0858, reel 033325/0861) and a "repeat correspondent" (Morrison & Foerster LLP for those 2014 entries), the current ultimate assignee, GRIDSCALE SOLUTIONS, LLC, lacks sufficient public information to confidently determine its operational status or if it aligns with shell-entity patterns. Enphase Energy Inc. is an operating company. Therefore, without more information on GRIDSCALE SOLUTIONS, LLC and its direct assignor Powerbridge Networks, LLC, a definitive NPE classification cannot be made.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US8279642B2: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

Generated 5/24/2026, 6:46:40 PM