Assignment history

Inventors

• Zheng Han (Zepp Labs Inc)
• Xiaowei Dai (Zepp Labs Inc)
• Mi Chen (Zepp Labs Inc)

Unusual pattern: Inventors Zheng Han and Xiaowei Dai, along with Mi Chen, were originally associated with Zepp Labs Inc. However, post-filing, there are reassignment records indicating transfers involving Zheng Han and Xiaowei Dai individually, before the patent ultimately landed with Zepp North America Inc. This suggests some internal restructuring or changes in inventor affiliations/ownership interests.

Original assignee

Zepp Labs Inc. Their primary line of business was developing sports sensor technology and applications for motion analysis, particularly for golf, baseball, and tennis. They shipped products embodying the claims, such as small, attachable sensors for sports equipment to track performance.

Current Status: Acquired by Huami Corporation (now Zepp Health Corporation) in 2018. Zepp North America Inc. is an active entity under the Zepp Health umbrella.

Assignment timeline

• 2013-03-29 (executed) / recorded 2013-03-29 — Reel 030097/0862

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: CHEN, MI; HAN, ZHENG
  • Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: BAE, SUK HEE, LEE & MORSE, P.C., 388 BRIDGE STREET, SUITE 803, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, 11201
  • Context: Transfer of inventor's interest to a corporate entity.

• 2013-12-20 (executed) / recorded 2013-12-20 — Reel 031448/0659

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HAN, ZHENG
  • Assignee: ZEPP LABS, INC.
  • Correspondent: RAGHAVAN, NALINI, SCHOX, PLC, 500 3RD STREET, SUITE 515, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94107
  • Context: Inventor assigning interest back to the original assignee, Zepp Labs Inc.

• 2014-12-17 (executed) / recorded 2014-12-17 — Reel 033325/0827

  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: CHEN, MI; DAI, XIAOWEI; HAN, ZHENG
  • Assignee: HAN, ZHENG
  • Correspondent: RAGHAVAN, NALINI, SCHOX, PLC, 500 3RD STREET, SUITE 515, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94107. This correspondent also appears on reel 031448/0659 for this patent.
  • Context: Corrective assignment to update assignee name and add a second assignor.

• 2018-08-30 (executed) / recorded 2018-08-30 — Reel 045869/0754

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ZEPP LABS, INC.
  • Assignee: HUAMI HK LIMITED
  • Correspondent: KANG, YOON S, 3333 CALIFORNIA STREET, SUITE 340, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94118
  • Context: Acquisition of Zepp Labs Inc. by Huami HK Limited.

• 2018-10-16 (executed) / recorded 2018-10-16 — Reel 046162/0547

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HUAMI HK LIMITED
  • Assignee: Beijing Shunyuan Kaihua Technology Limited
  • Correspondent: YAN, WENJIN, MEITAR, LIPA & ZERNER, LLP, 201 N. BRANDEIS AVE., SUITE 207, WHITE PLAINS, NY, 10606
  • Context: Transfer of patent ownership from Huami HK Limited to Beijing Shunyuan Kaihua Technology Limited.

• 2026-04-10 (executed) / recorded 2026-04-10 — Reel 060599/0410

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Beijing Shunyuan Kaihua Technology Limited
  • Assignee: ZEPP NORTH AMERICA, INC.
  • Correspondent: LIU, JIULONG, JCIP (SHANGHAI) LAW FIRM, ROOM 1009, FLOOR 10, BUILDING 3, NO. 3000, XIANGHE RD., PUDONG NEW AREA, SHANGHAI, CHINA, 200120
  • Context: Transfer of patent ownership to Zepp North America, Inc.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8989441
    2013 : Filed by Zepp Labs Inc
         : Assigned to Samsung Electro-Mechanics
    2013 : Assigned to Zepp Labs Inc
    2014 : Corrective assignment to Zheng Han
    2015 : Issued to Zepp Labs Inc
    2018 : Assigned to Huami HK Limited
         : Assigned to Beijing Shunyuan Kaihua
    2026 : Assigned to Zepp North America Inc

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Unclear. While entities like "Beijing Shunyuan Kaihua Technology Limited" or "Huami HK Limited" might raise questions without further information on their core business beyond holding IP, there isn't enough public information solely from the assignment records to definitively label them as shell entities. Zepp North America Inc. is an operating company.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. None of the assignees (Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd., Zepp Labs Inc., Huami HK Limited, Beijing Shunyuan Kaihua Technology Limited, Zepp North America Inc.) are on the commonly recognized NPE lists.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Nalini Raghavan of Schox, PLC, appears as the correspondent for the assignments recorded on reel 031448/0659 and reel 033325/0827.
4. Cascading transfers — Present. There are two transfers in rapid succession in 2018: from Zepp Labs Inc. to Huami HK Limited on 2018-08-30 (executed/recorded) and then to Beijing Shunyuan Kaihua Technology Limited on 2018-10-16 (executed/recorded). This is a period of less than two months between recorded assignments.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. While Google Patents indicates ongoing litigation, the specific filing dates of those lawsuits in relation to the assignments are not readily available in the patent record to confirm if any assignment occurred within 6 months prior.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. There is no indication in the assignment records or Google Patents legal events that any of the assignors or assignees have undergone bankruptcy proceedings leading to a patent sale.
7. Privateering — Unclear. There is no information in the assignment records or publicly available data to suggest that any of the transfers were part of a privateering arrangement.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not terminate at any known defensive aggregators like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion The current assignee, Zepp North America Inc., is part of Zepp Health Corporation, which develops and sells sports-related products embodying the claims, like motion sensors for athletic equipment. Although there was a period of rapid transfers in 2018 (reel 045869/0754 and 046162/0547), these appear to be related to corporate acquisitions and restructuring within the Zepp/Huami ecosystem, rather than a divestment to a licensing-only entity. The presence of litigation (as indicated by Google Patents) further suggests active assertion by an operating company.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search for US8989441: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html?cn=8989441