Assignment history

Analyst's Note: The user-provided "Litigation summary" stating there is no known litigation involving US 9,900,569 as of April 26, 2026, is contradicted by the authoritative patent data provided for this task. The Google Patents entry for US 9,900,569 explicitly lists multiple litigation events beginning in 2024, including cases in the Texas Eastern District Court (5:24-cv-00088), the California Northern District Court (3:24-cv-08147), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (25-1659), and a PTAB proceeding (IPR2025-00942). The following analysis proceeds based on the public record that this patent is, in fact, actively being litigated.

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Inventors

The named inventors are Eriko Nagata, Shinji ONODERA, Satomi Morishita, Naoya Oka, and Masaaki Iwanaga. At the time the patent application was filed, all inventors assigned their rights to their employer, Hitachi Maxell, Ltd., a common practice for corporate R&D employees. There are no unusual patterns discernible from the public record regarding their employment tenure post-filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee of record is Hitachi Maxell, Ltd., a major Japanese multinational company that manufactures and sells consumer and industrial electronics, including batteries, data storage media, and audio-visual products. The company, now known as Maxell, Ltd., has historically manufactured and sold projection-type image display devices, making it an operating company that almost certainly shipped products embodying the patent's claims. It remains an active operating company.

Assignment timeline

• 2016-12-22 (executed) / recorded 2016-12-29 — Reel 040851/0219

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Eriko Nagata, Shinji ONODERA, Satomi Morishita, Naoya Oka, Masaaki Iwanaga (the inventors)
  • Assignee: HITACHI MAXELL, LTD.
  • Correspondent: Yasuhiko Suzuki, Suzuys & Suzuys, Tokyo, JAPAN
  • Context: Formal assignment of interest from the inventors to their employer.

• 2017-10-01 (executed) / recorded 2018-01-25 — Reel 043689/0931

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HITACHI MAXELL, LTD.
  • Assignee: MAXELL, LTD.
  • Correspondent: Yasuhiko Suzuki, Suzuys & Suzuys, Tokyo, JAPAN. This is the same correspondent as the preceding entry.
  • Context: Internal corporate restructuring and name change from Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. to Maxell, Ltd.

• 2021-10-01 (executed) / recorded 2021-11-29 — Reel 057032/0214

  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: MAXELL, LTD.
  • Assignee: MAXELL HOLDINGS, LTD.
  • Correspondent: Masahiro Yoshida, Maxell, Ltd., Saitama-ken, JAPAN
  • Context: Internal reorganization via merger into a holding company structure.

• Undated (executed) / recorded 2021-12-03 — Reel 057106/0402

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: MAXELL HOLDINGS, LTD.
  • Assignee: MAXELL, LTD.
  • Correspondent: Masahiro Yoshida, Maxell, Ltd., Saitama-ken, JAPAN. This is the same correspondent as the preceding entry.
  • Context: Corporate name change back to the operating company name.

• 2023-05-18 (executed) / recorded 2023-05-18 — Reel 064103/0582

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: MAXELL, LTD.
  • Assignee: K. MIZUNO IP MANAGEMENT LLC
  • Correspondent: Kentaro Mizuno, K. Mizuno IP Management LLC, Houston, TX
  • Context: Transfer from the original operating company to a third-party non-practicing entity.

• 2023-05-18 (executed) / recorded 2023-05-19 — Reel 064111/0430

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: K. MIZUNO IP MANAGEMENT LLC
  • Assignee: CF MAXELL JP LLC
  • Correspondent: Jessica L. Rocha, Sidley Austin LLP, Dallas, TX
  • Context: The patent was pledged as collateral, likely as part of a litigation funding agreement.

• 2023-08-01 (executed) / recorded 2023-08-01 — Reel 065448/0593

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: K. MIZUNO IP MANAGEMENT LLC
  • Assignee: MAXELL AKATSUKI IP LLC
  • Correspondent: Kentaro Mizuno, K. Mizuno IP Management LLC, Houston, TX. This is the same correspondent as the transfer into this LLC.
  • Context: Transfer into a newly created, purpose-built assertion entity.

• 2023-08-01 (executed) / recorded 2023-08-01 — Reel 065448/0602

  • Conveyance: Security Agreement
  • Assignor: MAXELL AKATSUKI IP LLC
  • Assignee: CF MAXELL JP LLC
  • Correspondent: Jessica L. Rocha, Sidley Austin LLP, Dallas, TX. This is the same correspondent as the preceding security agreement.
  • Context: The patent was again pledged as collateral under its new owner, confirming the financing arrangement follows the asset.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9900569
    2014 : Filed by Hitachi Maxell Ltd
    2016 : Inventors assign to Hitachi Maxell
    2017 : Assigned to Maxell Ltd in reorg
    2018 : Patent issued
    2021 : Internal merger to Maxell Holdings
         : Name change back to Maxell Ltd
    2023 : Assigned to K MIZUNO IP MGMT LLC
         : Security agreement with CF MAXELL
         : Assigned to MAXELL AKATSUKI IP LLC
         : Second security agreement with CF MAXELL
    2024 : First infringement suits filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The 2023 assignments from operating company Maxell, Ltd. to K. MIZUNO IP MANAGEMENT LLC and subsequently to MAXELL AKATSUKI IP LLC are clear transfers to non-practicing entities. The assignee names include "IP MANAGEMENT" and "IP LLC", and they are recently formed limited liability companies. (Reels 064103/0582 and 065448/0593).

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. The final assignee and current plaintiff, MAXELL AKATSUKI IP LLC, is an assertion vehicle for Maxell, Ltd. Maxell has engaged in numerous assertion campaigns via various LLCs, establishing a pattern of behavior consistent with a known asserter.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. Kentaro Mizuno is the correspondent for the assignment into his own entity, K. MIZUNO IP MANAGEMENT LLC, and the subsequent assignment out of it to MAXELL AKATSUKI IP LLC (Reels 064103/0582 and 065448/0593). Additionally, Jessica L. Rocha of Sidley Austin LLP is the correspondent for both security agreements, on behalf of the same secured party, CF MAXELL JP LLC (Reels 064111/0430 and 065448/0602). This indicates a coordinated legal team managing the assertion structure and its financing.

4. Cascading transfers — Present. The patent was transferred from Maxell, Ltd. to K. MIZUNO IP MANAGEMENT LLC and then to MAXELL AKATSUKI IP LLC in just over two months (May 18, 2023, to August 1, 2023). This rapid, multi-step transfer through shell entities is a hallmark of setting up an assertion campaign.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The final assignment to the asserting entity, MAXELL AKATSUKI IP LLC, was recorded on August 1, 2023. The first infringement suits were filed in early 2024, placing the transfer squarely in the pre-litigation setup period.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The transfer was from a financially healthy operating company.

7. Privateering — Present. This is a quintessential privateering arrangement. Maxell, an operating company, moved its patent off its own books to a third-party NPE (MAXELL AKATSUKI IP LLC) for the purpose of asserting it against competitors, as evidenced by the litigation filed in 2024. The security agreements suggest this campaign is backed by a litigation funder (CF MAXELL JP LLC).

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent was transferred to an assertion entity, not a defensive one.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The verdict is justified by the presence of at least five strong, classic signals of NPE activity. The patent was moved by an operating company (Maxell) through a cascade of shell LLCs (Reels 064103/0582, 065448/0593) immediately prior to litigation being filed, a clear privateering model. The presence of repeat correspondents managing the transfers and associated security agreements (Reels 064111/0430, 065448/0602) further confirms this was a deliberately constructed assertion campaign.

Verification link: USPTO Patent Assignment Search for Pat. 9900569