Assignment history

Inventors

• Satoru Itou: Panasonic Corp
• Toshie Kutsunai: Panasonic Corp

Original assignee

The original assignee 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 semiconductor devices. Given their line of business, it is highly likely that they shipped products embodying the claims of US Patent 8907425, which relates to semiconductor devices with specific MISFET structures. Panasonic Corp is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2012-09-21 (executed) / recorded 2012-09-24 — Reel 028689/0989
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: ITOU, SATORU; KUTSUNAI, TOSHIE
  • Assignee: PANASONIC CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: PANASONIC CORPORATION (C/O J. A. BEAN, 20000 MARSH ROAD, YPSILANTI, MI 48197)
  • Context: Original assignment from inventors to the corporate entity.
• 2020-05-18 (executed) / recorded 2020-05-27 — Reel 048705/0136
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: PANASONIC CORPORATION
  • Assignee: PANASONIC SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: MCCUTCHEN, DOYLE, BROWN & ENERSEN, LLP (THREE EMBARCADERO CENTER, SUITE 2500, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111)
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization/transfer to a subsidiary.
• 2024-05-31 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-12 — Reel 064375/0369
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: PANASONIC SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CO., LTD.
  • Assignee: NUVOTON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION JAPAN
  • Correspondent: Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan (1753-1, Shimonumama, Mobara-shi, Chiba-ken, Japan 297-8585)
  • Context: Acquisition of subsidiary leading to change of name/ownership.
• 2024-07-29 (executed) / recorded 2024-07-30 — Reel 065539/0675
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: NUVOTON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION JAPAN
  • Assignee: ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC
  • Correspondent: BAKER BOTTS L.L.P. (2001 ROSS AVENUE, SUITE 900, DALLAS, TX 75201)
  • Context: Transfer to a likely patent assertion entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8907425
    2012 : Inventors assign to Panasonic
    2014 : Issued
    2020 : Panasonic assigns to Panasonic Semi Solutions
    2024 : Panasonic Semi Solutions assigns to Nuvoton
         : Nuvoton assigns to Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was assigned to ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC on 2024-07-30, as recorded in Reel 065539/0675. The assignee name, ending with "LLC," and the generic nature of "Advanced Integrated Circuit Process" are characteristic of shell entities, especially when coupled with litigation activity.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. The current assignee, ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC, has filed multiple US cases in the Texas Eastern District Court in 2024, and two PTAB cases (IPR2025-01090, IPR2025-00683) were filed in 2025, per Google Patents. This pattern of frequent litigation, particularly in an NPE-favored venue like EDTX, identifies the entity as an asserter.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. Different correspondents are listed for each assignment: Panasonic Corporation for the initial inventor assignment (Reel 028689/0989), MCCUTCHEN, DOYLE, BROWN & ENERSEN, LLP (Reel 048705/0136) for the transfer to Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions, Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan (Reel 064375/0369) for the transfer to Nuvoton, and BAKER BOTTS L.L.P. (Reel 065539/0675) for the final transfer to the NPE. No single correspondent or firm recurs across this specific patent's assignment chain.
4. Cascading transfers — Present. There were two consecutive assignments in a short period in 2024: Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions transferred to NUVOTON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION JAPAN on 2024-06-12 (Reel 064375/0369), and NUVOTON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION JAPAN then transferred to ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC on 2024-07-30 (Reel 065539/0675). This involves two transfers within approximately two months.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The patent was assigned to ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC on 2024-07-30 (Reel 065539/0675). Google Patents indicates US cases were filed in the Texas Eastern District Court in 2024 (e.g., 2:24-cv-00730, 2:24-cv-00623). This places the assignment within months of the initial litigation filings, strongly indicating a transfer made to enable assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication that Panasonic or Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan underwent bankruptcy proceedings related to this transfer.
7. Privateering — Unclear. No public information suggests that Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan (the direct assignor to the NPE) is funding or directing the assertion activities of ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent chain terminates with ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC, which is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is supported by multiple strong signals: the transfer to a shell entity (ADVANCED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS LLC) as evidenced by Reel 065539/0675, the clear pattern of litigation as a known asserter (per Google Patents' litigation entries), and the pre-litigation transfer date (July 2024 assignment closely precedes 2024 litigation filings). Additionally, the cascading transfers (two within two months in 2024) further reinforce this conclusion.

USPTO Patent Assignment Search for US8907425: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/8907425