Assignment history

Inventors

• Erika Kanezaki
• Ryo Nakamura
• Kotaro Jinnouchi
• Satoshi Kamata

All inventors were presumably employed by the original assignee, SanDisk, at the time of filing. There are no unusual patterns indicated in their employment history relative to the patent's filing date.

Original assignee

The original assignee was SanDisk Technologies LLC. SanDisk was a major operating company that designed, developed, and manufactured flash memory storage solutions and software. It was a pioneer in the solid-state storage market and shipped billions of products embodying its technology, including memory cards, USB flash drives, and solid-state drives (SSDs). In October 2015, Western Digital announced its intent to acquire SanDisk, a transaction that was completed on May 12, 2016. SanDisk now operates as a brand and subsidiary of Western Digital.

Assignment timeline

• 2015-07-22 (executed) / recorded 2015-07-22 — Reel 036157/0327

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Erika Kanezaki, Ryo Nakamura, Kotaro Jinnouchi
  • Assignee: SanDisk Technologies Inc.
  • Correspondent: Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP, P.O. Box 640640, San Jose, CA 95164-0640
  • Context: Standard assignment of invention from inventors to their employer.

• 2015-07-22 (executed) / recorded 2015-07-27 — Reel 036407/0563

  • Conveyance: Correction
  • Assignor: Erika Kanezaki, Ryo Nakamura, Kotaro Jinnouchi, Satoshi Kamata
  • Assignee: SanDisk Technologies Inc.
  • Correspondent: Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP, P.O. Box 640640, San Jose, CA 95164-0640
  • Context: Corrective assignment to add the fourth inventor, Satoshi Kamata, to the original assignment record.

• 2016-05-16 (executed) / recorded 2016-05-25 — Reel 038812/0954

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: SanDisk Technologies Inc.
  • Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC
  • Correspondent: The Recorder, P.O. Box 640640, San Jose, CA 95164-0640
  • Context: Internal corporate name change from an "Inc." to an "LLC" structure.

• 2024-08-12 (executed) / recorded 2024-08-15 — Reel 068301/0100

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: SanDisk Technologies LLC
  • Assignee: Palisade Technologies, LLP
  • Correspondent: Cogency Global Inc., 850 New Burton Rd Ste 201, Dover, DE 19904
  • Context: Divestiture of a portfolio of patents from operating company Western Digital/SanDisk to a third-party entity, Palisade Technologies, which subsequently began asserting the patents.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9524974
    2015 : Filed by inventors
         : Assigned to SanDisk Technologies Inc
    2016 : Name change to SanDisk Technologies LLC
         : SanDisk acquired by Western Digital
    2024 : Assigned to Palisade Technologies LLP
         : First infringement suit filed vs Micron
    2026 : Litigation against Micron dismissed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred from SanDisk Technologies LLC, a well-established operating company and subsidiary of Western Digital, to Palisade Technologies, LLP. Palisade Technologies has no known products and its first documented activity is patent litigation. This transfer from a major product company to a non-practicing entity is a classic indicator.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. The current assignee, Palisade Technologies, LLP, is a patent assertion entity. Shortly after acquiring a portfolio of patents from SanDisk/Western Digital in August 2024, Palisade began filing infringement lawsuits, including a case against Micron Technology in the Western District of Texas in October 2024.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. The correspondents for the initial inventor assignments and the later transfer to Palisade are different entities. The final assignment was recorded by Cogency Global Inc., a registered agent and corporate services firm, which is common for special-purpose entities.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There is only a single transfer from the original operating company to the asserting entity.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The assignment to Palisade Technologies, LLP was executed on August 12, 2024, and recorded on August 15, 2024. The first lawsuit asserting this patent (among others) was filed by Palisade against Micron Technology on October 16, 2024, approximately two months after the transfer. This close timing strongly suggests the patent was acquired for the specific purpose of litigation.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. SanDisk was acquired by Western Digital in a major strategic transaction, not as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While this is a transfer from an operating company (Western Digital/SanDisk) to an NPE that is now suing a competitor (Micron), there is no public evidence to confirm whether Western Digital retains a financial interest in the outcome of the litigation. Without such evidence, a privateering arrangement cannot be confirmed.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not involve any known defensive aggregators. The final assignee is a plaintiff in patent litigation.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The verdict is based on multiple strong signals. The patent was transferred from a major operating company, SanDisk (a subsidiary of Western Digital), to Palisade Technologies, LLP, an entity with no known products that fits the profile of a patent assertion entity (Reel 068301/0100). This transfer was immediately followed by litigation; the assignment was executed in August 2024, and Palisade filed its first infringement suit against Micron Technology just two months later in October 2024, establishing a clear pre-litigation transfer pattern.

Verification Link: USPTO Patent Assignment Search for Pat. No. 9524974