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http://www.chiptatum.com/index.php/articles/18-debunking-the-rumor

It’s been reported that Peidong Wang, from Suzhou, Zhijun Chen, from Suzhou, Zhihong Cheng, from Suzhou and Li Ying, from Suzhou, Freescale employees from China who were said to have been on board flight 370, were each 20% holders of U.S. Patent #US008671381B1. Shockingly, the remaining 20% has been reported to be held by Freescale Semiconductor Ltd., which now after the disappearance of flight 370 becomes the sole patent holder. In laymen’s terms, Lord Jacob Rothschild is now the patent holder by virtue of invested interest into Freescale Semiconductor Ltd.

So some say that patent holders died. Some say they didn't. Which one is right?

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    Why would ownership go to the fifth owner rather than normal inheritance? (I'm not addressing whether they died or not, I have no knowledge of that.)
    – Loren Pechtel
    Oct 23, 2015 at 17:33
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    "Shockingly [their employer is a part owner of the IP in a completely usual industrial profit sharing arrangement]" Suggests that the source is biased and that more than a little skepticism is warranted.
    – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten
    Oct 23, 2015 at 18:02
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    As a separate matter, the named inventors had no rights to the patent in 2014. All rights were assigned to Freescale in 2012, before the patent was even granted.
    – cpast
    Oct 23, 2015 at 18:17
  • @cpast, sure, but did they have license royalties guaranteed in their contracts?
    – mikeazo
    Oct 27, 2015 at 17:01
  • @mikeazo As someone who has authored patents for an employer in the electronics industry, that seems unlikely to me. Perhaps it happens in some cases, but normally the company would own 100% interest in patents authored by their employees in work being done for the company.
    – reirab
    Jun 25, 2018 at 19:23

2 Answers 2

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When one compares the name list of MH 370 passengers and the names of the patent holders, one could find that claim is false referring to Snopes. Analysis shows that the names Peidong Wang from Suzhou, Zhijun Chen from Suzhou, Zhihong Cheng from Suzhou and Li Ying, from Suzhou on the Patent do not match the name list on the MH 370 passenger manifest which disappeared on 8 March, 2014.

The patent filed on May 15, 2014 covers a system for optimizing the number of circuits on a piece of semi-conductor material rather than being military in nature.

If an inventor is deceased or under legal incapacity, the legal representative of the inventor may make an application for patent on behalf of the inventor. If an inventor dies during the time intervening between the filing of the application and the granting of a patent thereon, the letters patent may be issued to the legal representative upon proper intervention. If the application is filed by the legal representative (executor, administrator, etc.) of a deceased inventor, the legal representative must make the oath or declaration. No such declaration is present for patent #8,987,786.

The Blackstone Group, at which Jacob Rothschild serves as a member of the company's International Advisory Board, is one of the largest of institutional holders along with the Carlyle Group and TPG Group Holdings.

Freescale is a public company whose stock is held, in part, by 152 different institutional shareholders. The Blackstone Group, at which Jacob Rothschild serves as a member of the company's International Advisory Board, is one of the largest of those institutional holders (with over 196 million shares), but the Carlyle Group and TPG Group Holdings both own a number of Freescale shares equal to that held by Blackstone.

Also in reality if the above mentioned patent holders for State retention power gated cell are dead, the rights for all payments would pass on to their descendants.

It's also not a given that if all but one of the co-holders of a patent dies, "then the remaining one patent holder gets 100% of the wealth of the patent" as if a patent were some form of tontine to be awarded to the last man standing. Unless prior arrangements had been made in that regard, the share of the patent held by the deceased may pass to his heirs or estate through the usual inheritance process.

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The question is answered in the link given in the original claim.

in our evaluation of the passengers and the patent holders, we find that the names on the manifest do not match the names on the Patent.

The patent in question can be found here. Flight MH370 passenger manifest hosted by the Wall Street Journal, here. The names do not match.

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