Assignment history

Inventors

• Weng-Dah Ken (Etron Technology Inc)
• Nicky Lu (Etron Technology Inc)

No unusual patterns of inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing are determinable from the provided text.

Original assignee

Etron Technology Inc.
Etron Technology Inc. is a fabless IC design company that provides a range of products, including USB 3.0 host controllers, memory, and other IC solutions. Based on their product offerings, it is highly likely they shipped products embodying the claims, particularly in the realm of high-speed memory and associated controllers. The current status of Etron Technology Inc. is operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2012-10-09 (executed) / recorded 2012-10-11 — Reel 029108/0695

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Ken, Weng-Dah; Lu, Nicky
  • Assignee: ETRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Original assignment from inventors to the filing company.

• 2023-05-18 (executed) / recorded 2025-09-08 — Reel 072191/0373

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ETRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
  • Assignee: VALUECREATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer of assignor's interest.

• 2025-05-01 (executed) / recorded 2025-09-11 — Reel 072228/0495

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: VALUECREATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.
  • Assignee: WECREVENTION, INC.
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided text.
  • Context: Transfer of assignor's interest.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9164942
    2011 : Priority date
    2012 : Filed by Etron Technology Inc
         : Assigned to Etron Technology Inc
    2015 : Issued to Etron Technology Inc
    2023 : Assigned to Valuecreation Technology
    2025 : Assigned to Wecrevention Inc

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The transfer from ETRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. to VALUECREATION TECHNOLOGY, INC. (Reel 072191/0373) and then to WECREVENTION, INC. (Reel 072228/0495) suggests shell entities. VALUECREATION TECHNOLOGY, INC. and WECREVENTION, INC. do not appear to be product-shipping companies, and "VALUECREATION TECHNOLOGY" and "WECREVENTION" sound like holding companies. WECREVENTION, INC. is noted as being in Texas.

2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear. While the pattern of transfers suggests NPE activity, neither VALUECREATION TECHNOLOGY, INC. nor WECREVENTION, INC. are explicitly identified as known high-frequency NPEs in the provided public lists (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, etc.) or in the provided text. However, the patent is currently involved in litigation, including an IPR case (IPR2026-00239) and district court cases in the Texas Western and Eastern District Courts, which are common venues for NPE assertions.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. The correspondent information is not available in the provided text for any of the assignment records, so this signal cannot be evaluated.

4. Cascading transfers — present. There are two consecutive assignments within a short timeframe (executed 2023-05-18, recorded 2025-09-08; executed 2025-05-01, recorded 2025-09-11). The first transfer to VALUECREATION TECHNOLOGY, INC. and then quickly to WECREVENTION, INC. within roughly two years, with both recordings occurring in September 2025, fits this pattern (Reel 072191/0373 and Reel 072228/0495).

5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The assignment to WECREVENTION, INC. was executed on 2025-05-01 and recorded on 2025-09-11 (Reel 072228/0495). Unified Patents indicates that US cases were filed in the Texas Eastern and Western District Courts starting in 2025, with specific case numbers (e.g., 7:25-cv-00458, 2:25-cv-01040, 2:25-cv-01008, 2:25-cv-00951). This timing suggests the transfer to WECREVENTION, INC. may have been made in preparation for these assertions.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication in the provided text that Etron Technology Inc. filed for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — unclear. While Etron Technology Inc. transferred the patent, there is no direct evidence in the provided information (such as SEC filings or specific reports) to confirm that VALUECREATION TECHNOLOGY, INC. or WECREVENTION, INC. are asserting on behalf of Etron Technology Inc. against its competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is based on several strong signals: the presence of cascading transfers between entities with non-operating-company names (VALUECREATION TECHNOLOGY, INC. and WECREVENTION, INC.), and the clear timing of a pre-litigation transfer to WECREVENTION, INC. just prior to the initiation of multiple infringement suits in known NPE-favorable jurisdictions in Texas in 2025. These patterns strongly indicate that the patent has been transferred for assertion purposes.

USPTO Assignment Center search page for verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/