Patent 8385284

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

  • Christian Wengerter: Panasonic Corp
  • Akihiko Nishio: Panasonic Corp
  • Hidetoshi Suzuki: Panasonic Corp
  • Joachim Loehr: Panasonic Corp
  • Katsuhiko Hiramatsu: Panasonic Corp

(It is assumed all inventors were employed by Panasonic Corporation at the time of filing, as they assigned their interest to Panasonic Corporation on August 10, 2010.)

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Panasonic Corp.

Panasonic Corp is a multinational electronics corporation that manufactures and markets a wide range of electronic products, including those involving mobile communication technologies. It is highly probable that Panasonic Corp shipped products embodying the claims of US8385284, as the patent relates to control channel signaling in mobile communication systems, an area consistent with their business. Panasonic Corp is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

  • 2010-08-10 (executed) / recorded 2010-08-16 — Reel 024982/0130
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: WENGERTER, CHRISTIAN; HIRAMATSU, KATSUHIKO; LOEHR, JOACHIM; NISHIO, AKIHIKO; SUZUKI, HIDETOSHI (all named inventors)
    • Assignee: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    • Correspondent: FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT & DUNNER, LLP, 901 NEW YORK AVENUE, NW, WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 20001. This correspondent also appears for the subsequent assignment to Optis Wireless Technology, LLC.
    • Context: Initial assignment of patent rights from inventors to their employer.
  • 2014-01-20 (executed) / recorded 2014-01-24 — Reel 032288/0100
    • Conveyance: LIEN
    • Assignor: OPTIS WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY, LLC
    • Assignee: HIGHBRIDGE PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES, LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
    • Correspondent: FOLEY & LARDNER LLP, 3000 K STREET, N.W. SUITE 600, WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 20007-5109.
    • Context: Granting of a security interest by Optis Wireless Technology, LLC.
  • 2014-02-14 (executed) / recorded 2014-02-23 — Reel 032334/0100
    • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
    • Assignor: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    • Assignee: OPTIS WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY, LLC
    • Correspondent: FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT & DUNNER, LLP, 901 NEW YORK AVENUE, NW, WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 20001. This correspondent also appeared for the initial inventor assignment.
    • Context: Transfer of patent ownership from Panasonic Corporation to Optis Wireless Technology, LLC.
  • 2014-03-03 (executed) / recorded 2014-03-12 — Reel 032398/0126
    • Conveyance: SECURITY INTEREST
    • Assignor: OPTIS WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY, LLC
    • Assignee: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
    • Correspondent: JOHN L. WELCH, 6303 WINDSOR COURT, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, 27615. This correspondent also appears for the subsequent release by HPS Investment Partners, LLC.
    • Context: Granting of a security interest by Optis Wireless Technology, LLC.
  • 2016-07-08 (executed) / recorded 2016-07-15 — Reel 034608/0777
    • Conveyance: RELEASE BY SECURED PARTY
    • Assignor: HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC
    • Assignee: OPTIS WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY, LLC
    • Correspondent: JOHN L. WELCH, 6303 WINDSOR COURT, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, 27615. This correspondent also appeared for the prior security interest involving Wilmington Trust, National Association.
    • Context: Release of a security interest held by HPS Investment Partners, LLC (related to Highbridge Principal Strategies, LLC) over the patent.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8385284
    2008 : Filed by Panasonic Corp
    2010 : Inventors assigned to Panasonic
    2013 : Patent issued
    2014 : Optis gets security interest
         : Panasonic assigned to Optis
         : Optis gets second security interest
    2016 : Security interest released

NPE / troll-pattern signals

  1. Shell-entity transfer —
    • Present: The patent was transferred from Panasonic Corporation, an operating company, to Optis Wireless Technology, LLC, a known patent assertion entity. (Executed 2014-02-14 / recorded 2014-02-23, Reel 032334/0100)
  2. Known asserter in the chain —
    • Present: Optis Wireless Technology, LLC is widely recognized as a patent assertion entity (PAE) or Non-Practicing Entity (NPE). Their involvement in multiple litigations concerning this patent family confirms their assertion strategy.
  3. Repeat correspondent across the chain —
    • Present: John L. Welch, 6303 Windsor Court, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27615, served as the correspondent for two recordings involving Optis Wireless Technology, LLC: a security interest (Reel 032398/0126, recorded 2014-03-12) and a release by a secured party (Reel 034608/0777, recorded 2016-07-15). The firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP also appears twice, handling the initial inventor assignment (Reel 024982/0130) and the assignment from Panasonic to Optis (Reel 032334/0100).
  4. Cascading transfers —
    • Not present: While there were multiple financial conveyances (security interests, release) in proximity to the assignment to Optis, there were no multiple consecutive assignments of ownership through chained LLCs within a short period. The ownership transfer was a single step from Panasonic to Optis.
  5. Pre-litigation transfer —
    • Unclear: The assignment to Optis was executed on 2014-02-14 (recorded 2014-02-23, Reel 032334/0100). The earliest identified US litigation for this patent is case 2:17-cv-00123, filed in 2017. This date is more than 6 months after the assignment. However, "First worldwide family litigation filed" is noted at an unspecified date, which could have been closer to the assignment. Given Optis's business model, an acquisition by them is inherently in anticipation of assertion.
  6. Bankruptcy fire-sale —
    • Not present: Panasonic Corporation was an active operating company at the time of the assignment to Optis, and there is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings.
  7. Privateering —
    • Unclear: While Optis is an NPE and the patent originated from an operating company, there is no explicit evidence (e.g., from SEC filings or public reports) to confirm that Panasonic transferred the patent to Optis specifically for assertion on Panasonic's behalf against competitors.
  8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) —
    • Not present: The patent is currently held by Optis Wireless Technology, LLC, which is a known patent assertion entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The verdict is high confidence NPE due to the transfer of the patent from the operating company Panasonic Corporation to Optis Wireless Technology, LLC (executed 2014-02-14 / recorded 2014-02-23, Reel 032334/0100), which is a known patent assertion entity. This is further supported by the numerous active litigation cases in which Optis Wireless Technology LLC is a plaintiff, as listed in the Google Patents legal events.

Verification: USPTO Assignment Center search for US8385284

Generated 5/29/2026, 8:54:36 PM