Assignment history

Inventors

• Oliver Schultz-Wittmann (Tetrasun Inc.)
• Denis DeCeuster (Tetrasun Inc.)

Original assignee

The original assignee was Tetrasun Inc. Tetrasun Inc. was a solar technology company focused on high-efficiency silicon solar cells. It was acquired by First Solar, Inc. in 2013, and its operations were integrated into First Solar.

Assignment timeline

• 2011-11-15 (executed) / recorded 2011-12-07 — Reel 027582/0268
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Denis Deceuster
  • Assignee: Tetrasun Inc.
  • Correspondent: Matthew J. Van Eman, The Law Offices of Van Eman & Van Eman LLC, 1310 E. Main St., Ste. 101, Madison, WI, 53703
  • Context: Transfer of inventor's interest to original assignee
• 2011-11-15 (executed) / recorded 2011-12-07 — Reel 027582/0268
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Oliver Schultz-Wittmann
  • Assignee: Tetrasun Inc.
  • Correspondent: Matthew J. Van Eman, The Law Offices of Van Eman & Van Eman LLC, 1310 E. Main St., Ste. 101, Madison, WI, 53703. This correspondent appears multiple times in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor's interest to original assignee
• 2013-05-10 (executed) / recorded 2013-06-25 — Reel 030043/0187
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Tetrasun, Inc.
  • Assignee: First Solar, Inc.
  • Correspondent: Joseph F. Ruocco, 350 W. Washington Street, Suite B, Tempe, AZ, 85281
  • Context: Acquisition of Tetrasun Inc. by First Solar, Inc.
• 2025-02-24 (executed) / recorded 2025-03-05 — Reel 065848/0259
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: TETRASUN, INC.
  • Assignee: FIRST SOLAR, INC.
  • Correspondent: Christopher L. Makay, 350 W. Washington Street, Suite B, Tempe, AZ, 85281
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization or re-recording of prior acquisition for clarity.
• 2025-09-11 (executed) / recorded 2025-09-15 — Reel 066795/0369
  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: FIRST SOLAR, INC.
  • Assignee: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
  • Correspondent: Amy L. Van Blaricom, 200 West Street, New York, NY, 10282
  • Context: Patent used as collateral for a loan or financing agreement.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9130074
    2010 : Application filed by Tetrasun Inc
    2011 : Inventors assign to Tetrasun Inc
    2013 : Assigned to First Solar Inc
    2015 : Patent issued
    2025 : Tetrasun re-assigns to First Solar
         : Security agreement to JPMorgan Chase

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. All assignees appear to be operating companies.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. First Solar, Inc. is a major operating company in the solar industry. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. is a financial institution, holding the patent as collateral.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. Matthew J. Van Eman of The Law Offices of Van Eman & Van Eman LLC is listed as the correspondent for both inventor assignments to Tetrasun Inc. (Reel 027582/0268). While not directly indicating an NPE, it shows consistent legal representation for the early assignments. Christopher L. Makay (350 W. Washington Street, Suite B, Tempe, AZ, 85281) also appears twice, representing the assignor and assignee in the 2013 and 2025 assignments involving First Solar.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. The transfers are spaced out over several years, reflecting business acquisitions and re-recordings rather than rapid transfers between shell entities.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The most recent assignment (excluding the security agreement) involving a change of ownership from Tetrasun to First Solar was in 2013. The patent was subsequently re-assigned from Tetrasun to First Solar in February 2025 (Reel 065848/0259). Given that litigation was initiated in early 2026, this 2025 re-assignment might be considered somewhat close to the litigation, although it's listed as a re-assignment from the previous assignee (Tetrasun) back to the current owner (First Solar), which could be an internal clarification rather than a new transfer for assertion purposes. The security agreement in September 2025 (Reel 066795/0369) is also close to the litigation, but this represents collateral, not a transfer for assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of Tetrasun Inc. or First Solar, Inc. undergoing bankruptcy proceedings leading to the sale of this patent.
7. Privateering — not present. First Solar, Inc. is directly asserting the patent.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent is currently assigned to First Solar, Inc., an operating company.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. First Solar, Inc., a major operating company, acquired the patent as part of its acquisition of Tetrasun Inc. in 2013, and it is currently asserting the patent against competitors in the solar industry. The recent assignments in 2025 (Reel 065848/0259 and Reel 066795/0369) appear to be either internal reorganizations/clarifications or a security agreement, rather than transfers to a shell entity for assertion.

For verification, refer to the USPTO Patent Assignment Search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/