Assignment history — US Patent 8514815

Inventors

Daqing Gu (Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.)
Hongyuan Zhang (Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.)
Jinyun Zhang (Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.)
Andreas F. Molisch (Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.)

Original assignee

The original assignee, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories Inc., is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric US Holdings, Inc., which is the principal subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric in the United States. MERL acts as the North American arm of Mitsubishi Electric's Corporate R&D organization. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company. They produce a wide array of products, including factory automation systems, power and energy systems, infrastructure solutions, automotive equipment, electronic devices, and home appliances, and are actively involved in wireless communication systems research. The company is publicly traded and is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

2008-09-22 (executed) / recorded 2008-09-22 — Reel 021570/0411
- Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
- Assignor: GU, DAQING; MOLISCH, ANDREAS F.; ZHANG, JINYUN; ZHANG, HONGYUAN
- Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC RESEARCH LABORATORIES, INC.
- Correspondent: NOT LISTED
- Context: Transfer from inventors to the initial corporate assignee.
2019-06-14 (executed) / recorded 2019-06-14 — Reel 045339/0819
- Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
- Assignor: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC RESEARCH LABORATORIES, INC.
- Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
- Correspondent: DANIEL E. WEINGARTEN, KENYON & KENYON LLP, ONE BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10004
- Context: Internal corporate reorganization/transfer to parent company.
2022-10-10 (executed) / recorded 2022-10-10 — Reel 060596/0916
- Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
- Assignor: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
- Assignee: FREEDOM PATENTS LLC
- Correspondent: JOSEPH A. ANTONELLI, ANTONELLI, HARRINGTON & THOMPSON LLP, 1600 WEST LAKE DRIVE, SUITE 200, TAYLOR, TX, 76574. This correspondent appears multiple times in other litigation for Freedom Patents LLC.
- Context: Sale of patent portfolio from operating company to a patent assertion entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8514815
    2005 : Filed by Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories Inc
    2008 : Assigned to Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories Inc
    2013 : Patent granted
    2019 : Assigned to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    2022 : Assigned to Freedom Patents LLC
    2023 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

Shell-entity transfer — present. The transfer to "Freedom Patents LLC" (Reel 060596/0916) is a strong indicator. Freedom Patents LLC is described as a non-practicing entity (NPE) or patent assertion entity (PAE) whose primary business model is monetizing patented innovations through licensing and litigation rather than manufacturing.
Known asserter in the chain — present. Freedom Patents LLC is explicitly identified as a patent assertion entity (NPE) in multiple sources, including the litigation summary for cases involving this patent. RPX also identifies Freedom Patents LLC as a litigating NPE.
Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Joseph A. Antonelli of Antonelli, Harrington & Thompson LLP is listed as the correspondent for the transfer to Freedom Patents LLC (Reel 060596/0916). Antonelli, Harrington & Thompson LLP is also consistently listed as legal representation for Freedom Patents LLC in its infringement lawsuits in the Eastern District of Texas.
Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one transfer from Mitsubishi Electric Corporation to Freedom Patents LLC recorded.
Pre-litigation transfer — present. The patent was assigned to Freedom Patents LLC on October 10, 2022 (recorded October 10, 2022, Reel 060596/0916). The first infringement suit involving this patent (e.g., Freedom Patents LLC v. Charter Communications, Inc.) was filed in April 2023, which is within 6 months of the assignment. Another case, Freedom Patents LLC v. [[Samsung Electronics Co.](/litigations/by-defendant/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.), Ltd.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.%2C%20Ltd.), was filed on June 14, 2024.
Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. The assignors, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, are operating companies and no bankruptcy proceedings were indicated in the assignment records or available search results.
Privateering — unclear. While the patent was transferred from an operating company (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation) to an NPE (Freedom Patents LLC), there is no explicit information to suggest that Freedom Patents LLC is asserting the patent on behalf of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation against its competitors.
Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with Freedom Patents LLC, a known patent asserter, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence
This verdict is based on multiple strong signals. The patent was transferred to Freedom Patents LLC (Reel 060596/0916), which is a known patent assertion entity. This transfer occurred within 6 months of the first recorded infringement lawsuit naming this patent, and the same correspondent attorney (Joseph A. Antonelli) appears on the assignment to Freedom Patents LLC and in their subsequent litigation activities.

To verify, search for US Patent 8514815 on the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/