Assignment history

Inventors

• Jungmin Ha (LG Electronics Inc)
• Sungjin Kim (LG Electronics Inc)
• Juhwa Cheong (LG Electronics Inc)
• Junyong Ahn (LG Electronics Inc)
• Hyungwook Choi (LG Electronics Inc)
• Wonjae Chang (LG Electronics Inc)
• Jaesung Kim (LG Electronics Inc)

Original assignee

LG Electronics Inc. was the original assignee named on the issued patent. LG Electronics Inc. is a global consumer electronics company that manufactures and sells a wide range of products, including solar panels. They ship products embodying the claims. LG Electronics Inc. is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2016-03-15 (executed) / recorded 2016-03-15 — Reel 037245/0283
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: AHN, JUNYONG, Chang, Wonjae, CHEONG, JUHWA, CHOI, HYUNGWOOK, HA, JUNGMIN, KIM, JAESUNG, KIM, SUNGJIN
  • Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
  • Correspondent: LG ELECTRONICS INC., 201 S. PALISADES AVENUE, ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ 07632
  • Context: Assignors' interest transferred to original assignee.
• 2022-09-29 (executed) / recorded 2022-10-06 — Reel 059952/0971
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
  • Assignee: SHANGRAO JINKO SOLAR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, ATTN: IP ASSIGNMENT DEPT., 444 W. LAKE STREET, SUITE 4000, CHICAGO, IL 60606-0029
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights.
• 2023-12-19 (executed) / recorded 2023-12-19 — Reel 062770/0670
  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: SHANGRAO JINKO SOLAR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD
  • Assignee: Shangrao Xinyuan YueDong Technology Development Co. Ltd
  • Correspondent: MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, ATTN: IP ASSIGNMENT DEPT., 444 W. LAKE STREET, SUITE 4000, CHICAGO, IL 60606-0029. This correspondent also appeared on 2022-10-06.
  • Context: Name change of assignee.
• 2024-03-18 (executed) / recorded 2024-03-27 — Reel 063467/0315
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Shangrao Xinyuan Yuedong Technology Development Co., Ltd.
  • Assignee: TRINA SOLAR CO., LTD.
  • Correspondent: MCGARRY BAIR PC, 3290 NORTHRIDGE DR. NE, SUITE 200, GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49544
  • Context: Transfer of patent rights.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9722104
    2015 : Application filed by LG Electronics Inc
    2016 : Inventors assigned to LG Electronics Inc
    2017 : Patent issued
    2022 : Assigned to Shangrao Jinko Solar
    2023 : Name change to Shangrao Xinyuan
    2024 : Assigned to Trina Solar Co Ltd

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The assignees, LG Electronics Inc., Shangrao Jinko Solar Technology Development Co., LTD, and Trina Solar Co., LTD., are all operating companies in the solar industry.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. None of the listed assignees (LG Electronics Inc., Shangrao Jinko Solar Technology Development Co., LTD, Shangrao Xinyuan YueDong Technology Development Co. Ltd, Trina Solar Co., LTD.) are identified as known NPEs in public lists.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. McDermott Will & Emery LLP (Attn: IP Assignment Dept.) appears as the correspondent for both the 2022-10-06 assignment (Reel 059952/0971) and the 2023-12-19 change of name (Reel 062770/0670).
4. Cascading transfers — not present. The transfers occurred in 2022 and 2024, which are more than 24 months apart. The change of name in 2023 for Shangrao Jinko Solar is not a transfer.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The priority date is 2014-11-28 and the publication date is 2017-08-01. The first litigation filed was in 2024, after the latest assignment in March 2024 to Trina Solar Co. Ltd. Without knowing the exact date the infringement suits were filed, it is unclear if the 2024-03-18 assignment falls within 6 months of the first suit.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication in the assignment records or provided context that any of the assignors or assignees were in bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering — not present. There is no indication from the provided information or public search results of privateering activity.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The current assignee is Trina Solar Co., LTD., which is an operating company, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The patent has been consistently held by operating companies in the solar industry, including the original assignee LG Electronics Inc., and subsequently Shangrao Jinko Solar Technology Development Co., LTD., and Trina Solar Co., LTD. The multiple transfers (Reel 059952/0971 on 2022-10-06 and Reel 063467/0315 on 2024-03-27) are between known operating entities in the field, not shell entities or known NPEs. The patent owner Trina Solar Co Ltd is an operating company and is involved in current litigation (as detailed in the previously generated sections), suggesting an assertion against competitors.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center search for US9722104: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/detail-result-view?id=[8006322](/patent/8006322)-1065.