Assignment history

Inventors

The named inventors are Yoshihiro Sato, Hideyuki Arai, and Takayuki Yamada. At the time of filing (2012-10-31), they were likely employed by Panasonic Corp, the original assignee. The first recorded assignment shows the inventors assigning their interest to Panasonic Corporation on 2011-03-25, before the patent application was filed.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent US8884373B2 is Panasonic Corp. Panasonic is a multinational electronics corporation that has historically shipped a wide range of products, including semiconductors, which would embody the claims of this patent. Panasonic Corporation is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2011-03-25 (executed) / recorded 2014-01-21 — Reel 031405/0074

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: SATO, YOSHIHIRO; YAMADA, TAKAYUKI; ARAI, HIDEYUKI
  • Assignee: PANASONIC CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: OHASHI, NORIO; PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.; C/O LAW OFFICES OF YAMAZAKI & ASSOCIATES; 1720 POST OAK BLVD, SUITE 1100; HOUSTON, TX 77056
  • Context: Internal transfer from inventors to the original corporate assignee.

• 2020-05-27 (executed) / recorded 2020-06-05 — Reel 051756/0545

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: PANASONIC CORPORATION
  • Assignee: PANASONIC SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: NAKAMURA, MASAO; GLOBAL PATENT; P.O. BOX 122; TOKYO, JP 101-8691
  • Context: Internal reorganization, transfer to a subsidiary.

• 2024-06-12 (executed) / recorded 2024-08-01 — Reel 066343/0655

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: PANASONIC SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CO., LTD.
  • Assignee: NUVOTON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION JAPAN
  • Correspondent: BROWNING, MICHAEL C.; ANDERSON, ANDERSON & BROWNING, L.L.P.; P.O. BOX 13247; LINDALE, TX 75771. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Corporate name change of the patent-owning entity, reflecting the acquisition of Panasonic's semiconductor business by Nuvoton.

• 2024-07-30 (executed) / recorded 2024-08-01 — Reel 066343/0656

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: NUVOTON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION JAPAN
  • Assignee: ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC
  • Correspondent: BROWNING, MICHAEL C.; ANDERSON, ANDERSON & BROWNING, L.L.P.; P.O. BOX 13247; LINDALE, TX 75771. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8884373
    2011 : Inventors assign to Panasonic Corp executed
    2012 : Application filed by Panasonic Corp
    2014 : Patent issued to Panasonic Corp
         : Inventors assignment recorded
    2020 : Panasonic assigns to Panasonic Semi Solutions
    2024 : Panasonic Semi Solutions changes name to Nuvoton Japan
         : Nuvoton Japan assigns to Advanced Integrated

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The final assignee, ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC, has a name consistent with a licensing-only entity. The correspondent's address (P.O. BOX 13247; LINDALE, TX 75771) is a known hotspot for patent assertion entities in the Eastern District of Texas.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. While ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC is not on the provided list of high-frequency plaintiffs, Google Patents indicates active litigation in the Texas Eastern District Court (case 2:25-cv-00324) and a PTAB case (IPR2025-01302) filed by Unified Patents, a defensive aggregator. This activity, particularly in EDTX and being challenged by Unified Patents, strongly suggests an assertion entity.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Michael C. Browning of Anderson, Anderson & Browning, L.L.P. (P.O. BOX 13247; LINDALE, TX 75771) is listed as the correspondent for both the 2024-06-12 "Change of Name" (Reel 066343/0655) and the subsequent 2024-07-30 "Assignment" to ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC (Reel 066343/0656). The recurrence of this correspondent, especially linked to a Lindale, TX address and the final transfer to a suspected shell entity, is a strong indicator.
4. Cascading transfers — Present. There are two significant events within a short period in 2024: a corporate name change recorded on 2024-08-01 (executed 2024-06-12) and an assignment recorded on the same date (executed 2024-07-30) to ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC. These two events, occurring less than two months apart and handled by the same correspondent in Lindale, TX, suggest a coordinated transfer.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment to ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC was executed on 2024-07-30 (recorded 2024-08-01). Google Patents indicates a US district court case was filed in the Eastern District of Texas in 2025 (2:25-cv-00324), which is less than six months after the assignment.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy for Panasonic Corporation or its subsidiaries in the assignment records.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While the transfer is from an operating company lineage (Panasonic/Nuvoton) to an entity exhibiting NPE characteristics, there is no direct evidence in the provided patent records to confirm a specific privateering arrangement.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent chain terminates with ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC, which appears to be an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The patent exhibits multiple strong signals of NPE activity. The final assignment is to ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC (Reel 066343/0656), which appears to be a shell entity with a correspondent in the known patent litigation hub of Lindale, TX. This final assignment also occurred within six months of litigation being filed in the Eastern District of Texas. The same correspondent, Michael C. Browning, handled multiple recent transactions in the chain (Reel 066343/0655, Reel 066343/0656), indicating a repeat player associated with such transfers.

Verification: USPTO Assignment Center Search for US8884373