Assignment history

Inventors

• Judah Gamliel Hahn (SanDisk IL Ltd)
• Yaakov Ben-Tsvi (SanDisk IL Ltd)

Both inventors appear to have been employed by SanDisk IL Ltd at the time of filing, as the patent was assigned to SanDisk IL Ltd on the same date it was filed. There is no indication of all inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is SanDisk IL Ltd. SanDisk is a well-known manufacturer of flash memory products, including USB flash drives, SD cards, and solid-state drives, which embody the claims of the patent. The primary line of business for SanDisk IL Ltd would have been research and development related to non-volatile memory and storage solutions. SanDisk, the parent company, was acquired by Western Digital in 2016. SanDisk IL Ltd subsequently underwent a name change to Western Digital Israel Ltd.. The patent itself is now expired due to failure to pay maintenance fees as of August 11, 2025.

Assignment timeline

• 2008-06-06 (executed) / recorded 2008-06-06 — Reel 021081/0410

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: HAHN, JUDAH GAMLIEL; BEN-TSVI, YAAKOV
  • Assignee: SANDISK IL LTD.
  • Correspondent: E. K. SAAVAGE - SUITE 160, 20400 STEVENS CREEK BLVD., CUPERTINO, CA, 95014.
  • Context: Initial assignment from inventors to their employer at the time of filing.

• 2019-11-12 (executed) / recorded 2020-08-21 — Reel 053574/0513

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: SANDISK IL LTD.
  • Assignee: WESTERN DIGITAL ISRAEL LTD
  • Correspondent: BAE, KYOUNG JOO - WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. - 5601 GREAT OAKS PKWY, SAN JOSE, CA 95119. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization/name change following the acquisition of SanDisk by Western Digital.

• 2024-10-22 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-24 — Reel 069267/0794

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: WESTERN DIGITAL ISRAEL, LTD.
  • Assignee: SANDISK TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Correspondent: BAE, KYOUNG JOO - WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. - 5601 GREAT OAKS PKWY., SAN JOSE, CA, 95119. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal corporate transfer of patent ownership within the Western Digital/SanDisk corporate family.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8484736
    2008 : Filed by inventors
         : Assigned to SanDisk IL Ltd
    2013 : Patent granted
    2019 : SanDisk IL Ltd becomes W.D. Israel Ltd
    2024 : Assigned to SanDisk Tech Inc
    2025 : Patent expired

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Not present. All entities in the assignment chain (SanDisk IL Ltd, Western Digital Israel Ltd, SanDisk Technologies, Inc.) are operating companies associated with the design and manufacture of storage devices.
2. Known asserter in the chain: Not present. None of the listed assignees are identified as known Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs) or patent trolls.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Present. Kyoung Joo Bae of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. is listed as the correspondent for the 2020 change of name (Reel 053574/0513) and the 2024 assignment (Reel 069267/0794). This indicates consistent legal representation for internal corporate transactions within the Western Digital/SanDisk group.
4. Cascading transfers: Not present. The transfers are spaced over several years (2008, 2019/2020, 2024) and reflect corporate structuring rather than rapid-fire transfers.
5. Pre-litigation transfer: Not present. The patent expired in 2025, and there are no public records of litigation occurring within six months prior to the final assignment in 2024 or before its expiration.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present. SanDisk was acquired by Western Digital through a corporate merger, not as a result of bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering: Not present. The ownership chain remains within a single operating company and its subsidiaries.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present. The patent was not transferred to an entity like RPX, AST, or LOT Network.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The patent's ownership history consistently resides within SanDisk and its acquiring entity, Western Digital, both prominent operating companies in the storage device industry. While the patent is now expired and cannot be asserted, its historical chain of title shows no patterns indicative of NPE activity, but rather typical corporate assignments and name changes (Reel 021081/0410, Reel 053574/0513, Reel 069267/0794).

USPTO Assignment Center Search for 8484736