Assignment history

Following a complete review of the USPTO assignment database and public litigation records for US patent 9,280,220, I have reconstructed the full ownership chain.

Inventors

The eight inventors named on the patent were employees of Atmel Corporation or its acquired subsidiary, Atmel Technologies U.K. Limited, at the time of the invention.

• Shahrooz Shahparnia (San Diego, CA)
• Vivek Pant (San Jose, CA)
• Esat Yilmaz (San Jose, CA)
• Vemund Kval Bakken (Trondheim, NO)
• Kishore Sundara-Rajan (San Jose, CA)
• John Stanley Dubery (Eastleigh, GB)
• Martin J. Simmons (Southampton, GB)
• Sherif Hanna (San Jose, CA)

There are no unusual patterns, such as mass departures, noted in the record. The inventors represent a mix of US-based Atmel staff and UK-based staff, likely from an acquisition.

Original assignee

The original assignee was Atmel Corporation. Atmel was a major manufacturer of semiconductors, including microcontrollers, and was a key supplier for touch-based devices. The company developed and shipped products, including touchscreen controllers, that embodied the technology claimed in this patent. Atmel was acquired by Microchip Technology Inc. in a deal that closed in 2016.

Assignment timeline

• 2015-01-09 (executed) / recorded 2015-01-15 — Reel 035172/0638

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: John Stanley Dubery, Martin John Simmons
  • Assignee: ATMEL TECHNOLOGIES U.K. LIMITED
  • Correspondent: Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, P.A., Minneapolis, MN
  • Context: Internal assignment from UK-based inventors to the corresponding Atmel corporate entity in the UK.

• 2015-01-09 (executed) / recorded 2015-01-15 — Reel 035172/0642

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Vemund Kval Bakken, Sherif Hanna, Vivek Pant, Shahrooz Shahparnia, Kishore Sundara-Rajan, Esat Yilmaz
  • Assignee: ATMEL CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, P.A., Minneapolis, MN
  • Context: Internal assignment from US- and Norway-based inventors to the primary US parent corporation, Atmel.

• 2015-01-09 (executed) / recorded 2015-01-15 — Reel 035172/0648

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ATMEL TECHNOLOGIES U.K. LIMITED
  • Assignee: ATMEL CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, P.A., Minneapolis, MN
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization, consolidating the patent under the US parent entity.

• 2015-06-03 (executed) / recorded 2015-06-16 — Reel 036130/0397

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: ATMEL CORPORATION
  • Assignee: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
  • Correspondent: Ropes & Gray LLP, Boston, MA
  • Context: Securitization of Atmel's patent portfolio as collateral for financing. This is a lien, not a change in ownership.

• 2016-04-01 (executed) / recorded 2016-04-07 — Reel 038230/0001

  • Conveyance: Release
  • Assignor: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
  • Assignee: ATMEL CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: Ropes & Gray LLP, Boston, MA
  • Context: Release of the prior security interest, likely related to Atmel's acquisition by Microchip Technology.

• 2017-01-27 (executed) / recorded 2017-02-10 — Reel 040905/0001

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: ATMEL CORPORATION
  • Assignee: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
  • Correspondent: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Los Angeles, CA
  • Context: Post-acquisition securitization of the combined Microchip/Atmel patent portfolio as collateral.

• 2018-05-29 (executed) / recorded 2018-06-25 — Reel 045155/0001

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: ATMEL CORPORATION, MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED, MICROSEMI CORPORATION, et al.
  • Assignee: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
  • Correspondent: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Los Angeles, CA
  • Context: Updated securitization agreement reflecting additional Microchip subsidiary names.

• 2018-09-11 (executed) / recorded 2018-09-18 — Reel 045914/0309

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: ATMEL CORPORATION, MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED, et al.
  • Assignee: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
  • Correspondent: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Palo Alto, CA
  • Context: Additional securitization agreement.

• 2018-09-24 (executed) / recorded 2018-09-27 — Reel 045982/0628

  • Conveyance: Release
  • Assignor: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
  • Assignee: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED, SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC., ATMEL CORPORATION, et al.
  • Correspondent: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Los Angeles, CA
  • Context: Release of security interest from JP Morgan, clearing title for a pending transaction.

• 2018-09-24 (executed) / recorded 2018-09-27 — Reel 045982/0695

  • Conveyance: Release
  • Assignor: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
  • Assignee: ATMEL CORPORATION, et al.
  • Correspondent: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Palo Alto, CA
  • Context: Release of security interest from Wells Fargo, clearing title for a pending transaction.

• 2018-10-01 (executed) / recorded 2018-10-01 — Reel 046103/0383

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: ATMEL CORPORATION
  • Assignee: WACOM CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: Microchip Technology Incorporated, Chandler, AZ
  • Context: Strategic acquisition of the patent by Wacom, a major Japanese manufacturer of interactive pen displays and tablets.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9280220
    2012 : Priority application filed
    2015 : Assigned to Atmel Corp
         : Lien to Morgan Stanley
    2016 : Granted by USPTO
         : Atmel acquired by Microchip Tech
         : Morgan Stanley lien released
    2017 : Lien to JP Morgan Chase
    2018 : Liens released
         : Assigned to Wacom Co Ltd
    2024 : Infringement suit filed by Wacom

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Not present. The final assignee, Wacom Co., Ltd., is a well-known, publicly traded operating company and a leader in the graphic tablet market. It is not a shell entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain: Not present. Atmel, Microchip, and Wacom are all operating companies. None appear on public lists of high-frequency NPEs.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Not present. Different major law firms (Schwegman, Ropes & Gray, Gibson Dunn, Simpson Thacher) handled the various corporate and financing transactions. The final assignment to Wacom was handled in-house by Microchip's legal department. This pattern is typical of transactions between large operating companies, not NPEs.

4. Cascading transfers: Not present. The chain of title is clean. The multiple security agreements and releases in 2018 are standard for clearing title before a sale between two large corporations and do not represent rapid ownership changes. The only substantive ownership change after issuance is the single transfer from Atmel/Microchip to Wacom.

5. Pre-litigation transfer: Not present. The assignment to Wacom occurred in October 2018. The first documented infringement suit was filed in 2024, nearly six years later.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present. Atmel was acquired by Microchip in a strategic transaction, not a bankruptcy.

7. Privateering: Not present. The final assignee and asserter, Wacom, is asserting the patent on its own behalf.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present. The patent has not been transferred to a defensive aggregator like RPX or LOT Network.

Verdict

• Operating-company assertion

This patent was developed by a major technology manufacturer (Atmel), acquired as part of a larger corporate acquisition by another manufacturer (Microchip), and subsequently sold to Wacom Co., Ltd., a global leader in the active stylus and digital tablet market. Wacom is now asserting the patent directly, as evidenced by litigation filed in 2024 (Wacom Co., Ltd. v. Dell Inc. et al, 2:24-cv-00702, E.D. Texas). The entire ownership history, from creation to assertion, has remained within operating companies that research, develop, and sell products in the relevant technical field.

Verify at: USPTO Assignment Search for US 9280220