Assignment history

Inventors

• Wen-Jiun Shen (United Microelectronics Corp)
• Ssu-I Fu (United Microelectronics Corp)
• Yen-Liang Wu (United Microelectronics Corp)
• Chia-Jong Liu (United Microelectronics Corp)
• Yu-Hsiang Hung (United Microelectronics Corp)
• Chung-Fu Chang (United Microelectronics Corp)
• Man-Ling Lu (United Microelectronics Corp)
• Yi-Wei Chen (United Microelectronics Corp)

There are no unusual patterns indicating all inventors departing the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is United Microelectronics Corp (UMC). UMC is a Taiwanese semiconductor foundry company that manufactures integrated circuits for other companies. They are an operating company and are currently active.

Assignment timeline

• 2014-10-13 (executed) / recorded 2014-10-13 — Reel 033934/0391

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: CHEN, YI-WEI; FU, SSU-I; HUNG, YU-HSIANG; LIU, CHIA-JONG; LU, MAN-LING; SHEN, WEN-JIUN; WU, YEN-LIANG; CHANG, CHUNG-FU (inventors)
  • Assignee: UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORP.
  • Correspondent: Not specified in the provided data.
  • Context: Internal transfer from inventors to original corporate assignee.

• 2021-06-18 (executed) / recorded 2021-07-26 — Reel 056991/0292

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
  • Assignee: MARLIN SEMICONDUCTOR LIMITED
  • Correspondent: J. C. PATENTS, 1F, NO. 40, SEC. 1, MINSHENG E. RD., TAIPEI, TAIWAN, (R.O.C.)
  • Context: Transfer to a new assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9786510
    2014 : Assigned to United Microelectronics Corp
    2017 : Issued
    2021 : Assigned to Marlin Semiconductor Ltd

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The assignment from United Microelectronics Corporation to MARLIN SEMICONDUCTOR LIMITED (executed 2021-06-18 / recorded 2021-07-26, Reel 056991/0292) shows a transfer from an operating company to an entity with "Semiconductor Limited" in its name. [Marlin Semiconductor Ltd.](/litigations/by-defendant/Marlin%20Semiconductor%20Ltd.) is listed as the current assignee on Google Patents, and the Darts-IP litigation link suggests it is involved in global patent litigation, which is a common characteristic of licensing-only entities.
2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear. Marlin Semiconductor Ltd is not explicitly on the common public NPE lists (Acacia, Marathon, etc.). However, its name structure and the presence of litigation (as indicated by Google Patents) warrant further investigation.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. The first assignment from inventors does not specify a correspondent. The correspondent for the second assignment is "J. C. PATENTS, 1F, NO. 40, SEC. 1, MINSHENG E. RD., TAIPEI, TAIWAN, (R.O.C.)" (Reel 056991/0292). Without additional information on other patents filed by this correspondent, it is not possible to determine if they are a repeat player.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one transfer recorded since the original assignment from inventors.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The patent has litigation filed (PTAB case IPR2025-01484, and "First worldwide family litigation filed" by Darts-ip). However, the specific dates of the first infringement suit naming this patent are not provided, making it unclear if the assignment date (2021-06-18) falls within 6 months prior to any such suit.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of United Microelectronics Corp filing for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — unclear. While the patent transferred from an operating company (UMC) to what appears to be a licensing entity (Marlin Semiconductor Ltd), there is no explicit evidence (e.g., SEC filings or specific reports) to confirm if Marlin Semiconductor Ltd is asserting on UMC's behalf against competitors.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence. The transfer from United Microelectronics Corp, a known operating company, to Marlin Semiconductor Limited (Reel 056991/0292) is a strong signal of a shell-entity transfer, especially given the "Limited" suffix and the indication of active litigation provided by Google Patents. While Marlin Semiconductor Ltd is not explicitly on widely published NPE lists, the transaction structure aligns with NPE behavior. Further, the existence of litigation activity (as noted in the Google Patents legal events section) supports the notion of assertion.

Verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/