Assignment history

An analysis of the ownership and assignment history of US Patent No. 9,929,240 is provided below.

Inventors

• Igor Polishchuk: At the time of filing, Mr. Polishchuk was a Senior Principal at Cypress Semiconductor.
• Sagy Charel Levy: At the time of filing, Mr. Levy was a Senior R&D Manager at Cypress Semiconductor.
• Krishnaswamy Ramkumar: At the time of filing, Dr. Ramkumar was Vice President of Process Technology R&D at Cypress Semiconductor.

All inventors were employees of the original assignee, Cypress Semiconductor, at the time of the invention. There are no indications of unusual employment patterns, such as mass departures, preceding or following the patent application.

Original assignee

The original assignee of the patent is Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. Cypress was a publicly-traded American semiconductor design and manufacturing company. Its primary business involved developing and selling a wide range of microcontrollers, wireless and USB connectivity solutions, and, notably, specialized memory products. The technology described in this patent, a SONOS (Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon) non-volatile memory transistor, was a core component of Cypress's proprietary flash memory portfolio, which it commercialized in numerous products for the automotive, industrial, and consumer markets.

In April 2020, Cypress Semiconductor was acquired by Infineon Technologies AG. Cypress now operates as a subsidiary of Infineon.

Assignment timeline

• 2016-11-21 (executed) / recorded 2016-11-21 — Reel 039981/0955

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Igor Polishchuk; Sagy Charel Levy; Krishnaswamy Ramkumar
  • Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
  • Correspondent: Joseph P. Beck, DLA Piper LLP (US), 2000 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA 94303
  • Context: Routine assignment from inventors to their employer, securing corporate ownership of the invention.

• 2017-04-18 (executed) / recorded 2017-04-25 — Reel 041219/0814

  • Conveyance: Patent Security Agreement
  • Assignor: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation; Spansion LLC
  • Assignee: Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Collateral Agent
  • Correspondent: Michael T. Ciaschini, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, 1200 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036
  • Context: The patent, along with other intellectual property, was pledged as collateral to secure a financing arrangement, a standard corporate practice.

• 2019-04-12 (executed) / recorded 2019-05-07 — Reel 048792/0664

  • Conveyance: Release by Secured Party
  • Assignor: Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc.
  • Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation; Spansion LLC
  • Correspondent: Michael T. Ciaschini, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, 1200 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036 (Same correspondent as the security agreement)
  • Context: Morgan Stanley released its security interest in the patent, returning full rights to Cypress Semiconductor, likely upon satisfaction of the associated loan or financing.

• 2019-05-01 (executed) / recorded 2019-05-04 — Reel 048771/0212

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
  • Assignee: Longitude Flash Memory Solutions Ltd.
  • Correspondent: Hariklia K. Karis, Karis IP Law, 1000 N. West Street, Suite 1200, Wilmington, DE 19801
  • Context: Transfer of the patent from the original operating company to a newly formed entity, Longitude Flash Memory Solutions Ltd.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9,929,240
    2016 : Application Filed
         : Inventors assign to Cypress
    2017 : Pledged as collateral to Morgan Stanley
    2018 : Patent Issued
    2019 : Security interest released by Morgan Stanley
         : Assigned to Longitude Flash Memory Solutions Ltd.
    2025 : Litigation filed vs NXP, STMicroelectronics, and Qualcomm

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The patent was transferred from Cypress Semiconductor, an operating company, to Longitude Flash Memory Solutions Ltd. [cite: Reel 048771/0212]. Research from public sources, including litigation databases, indicates Longitude is an intellectual property holding company that does not manufacture products. It was formed shortly before receiving this and other patents from Cypress.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Present. Longitude Flash Memory Solutions Ltd., the current assignee, is identified as a patent assertion entity. Unified Patents has documented litigation initiated by Longitude asserting this patent against multiple technology companies, including NXP, STMicroelectronics, and Qualcomm.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. The correspondent for the initial assignment (DLA Piper) and the security agreement (Pillsbury) are large law firms representing operating companies. The correspondent for the transfer to the assertion entity (Karis IP Law) is different.

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. The assignment history shows a clear transfer from the original assignee to a single subsequent assignee for assertion purposes, not a complex chain of transfers.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The patent was assigned to Longitude Flash Memory Solutions Ltd. on May 1, 2019. Longitude subsequently initiated litigation asserting this patent. For example, cases against NXP, STMicroelectronics, and Qualcomm were filed in early 2025. This transfer appears to have been made to facilitate an assertion campaign.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. The transfer was part of a strategic sale of assets from Cypress Semiconductor, not a bankruptcy proceeding.

7. Privateering — Unclear. This transfer exhibits characteristics of privateering, where an operating company (Cypress/Infineon) divests patents to a third-party NPE (Longitude) to assert against its competitors. While the relationship between Infineon and Longitude is not publicly detailed, the pattern is consistent with a privateering model. However, without a definitive contractual link, this remains an inference.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent is held by an assertion entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The patent was transferred from its original creator, Cypress Semiconductor, to Longitude Flash Memory Solutions Ltd., an entity that does not appear to produce products. [cite: Reel 048771/0212] Longitude has since engaged in litigation, asserting this patent against major semiconductor companies. This pattern of an operating company transferring a patent to a non-practicing entity which then launches an assertion campaign is a strong indicator of NPE activity.

Verify assignment records at the USPTO Patent Assignment Search by searching for Patent Number 9929240.