patent infringement – Page 3 – Duane Morris Green IP

January 16, 2018 by Justus Getty

EV Charging Station Company Loses Partnership Bid, Sues Winner

As part of its diesel emissions settlement with the U.S. government, Volkswagen Group of America has pledged to spend $2 billion on electric vehicle infrastructure and education.
A provider of electric vehicle charging stations appears to have lost its bid to partner with Volkswagen and promptly sued the winning bidder for patent infringement.

ChargePoint, Inc., a leading provider of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations, appears to have lost a bid to provide charging stations to Electrify America and promptly sued the winning bidder for patent infringement. In a lawsuit filed December 15, 2017, in federal court in Maryland, ChargePoint accused SemaConnect, Inc. of infringing four patents directed to networked charging station technology. Continue reading “EV Charging Station Company Loses Partnership Bid, Sues Winner”

January 3, 2018January 3, 2018 by Justus Getty

Vestas Adds Patent Infringement Claim Against GE in Wind Turbine Litigation

Vestas has added its own claims of patent infringement against GE in ongoing litigation between the wind turbine manufacturers, accusing GE of infringing a pair of Vestas patents directed to technology for connecting and controlling wind turbines on a power grid.

In a court filing on December 15, 2017, Danish-based Vestas Wind Systems A/S raised the stakes in its ongoing patent litigation with General Electric by asserting its own claims of patent infringement. Continue reading “Vestas Adds Patent Infringement Claim Against GE in Wind Turbine Litigation”

November 27, 2017November 30, 2017 by Justus Getty

Vestas Fires Back in GE Wind Turbine Lawsuit

Vestas has responded to GE’s patent infringement lawsuit with claims that GE engaged in inequitable conduct when obtaining a patent asserted in the lawsuit.
If proven, inequitable conduct renders a patent unenforceable.

Wind turbine giant Vestas has answered a patent infringement lawsuit brought by General Electric Co. with a counteroffensive, claiming GE committed inequitable conduct when obtaining one of the asserted patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Vestas additionally sought to have one of its corporate entities removed from the case altogether. (Our post explaining GE’s lawsuit is available here). Continue reading “Vestas Fires Back in GE Wind Turbine Lawsuit”

November 22, 2017November 30, 2017 by Justus Getty

Varentec Dodges Gridco Requests for Inter Partes Review

An inter partes review is an administrative proceeding that asks the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to invalidate a U.S. Patent. These reviews are commonly used by patent litigation defendants to challenge the validity at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office of patent claims that have been asserted against them in a U.S. District Court.
After Varentec sued Gridco for patent infringement, Gridco requested inter partes reviews for the asserted patents. However, Gridco’s requests were denied.

Grid management solutions company Varentec, Inc., dodged a pair of requests by rival Gridco, Inc. to invalidate Varentec’s U.S. patents this week. Gridco had challenged Varentec’s patents at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), an administrative tribunal within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that hears claims against the validity of U.S. patents. The PTAB denied Gridco’s requests for review of U.S. Patent Nos. 9,014,867 and 9,293,922. These related patents are owned by the Santa Clara-based Varentec and are directed to optimizing power delivery to consumers on an electrical grid with significant distributed generation. Continue reading “Varentec Dodges Gridco Requests for Inter Partes Review”

November 21, 2017November 30, 2017 by Justus Getty

General Electric Expands Patent Fight Against Vestas

General Electric sued Vestas for infringement of a first patent in July. General Electric has now added a second patent to that lawsuit.
The asserted patents are directed to “Zero Voltage Ride Through” or “ZVRT” technology.

Tech giant General Electric Co. has added a new patent to its infringement claims against Vestas Wind Systems A/S, thus expanding the scope of the lawsuit it initiated in July. In an Amended Complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles earlier this month, GE now claims that Vestas infringes its U.S. Patent No. 6,921,985 which is directed to technology for connecting wind turbines to power grids. This newly-asserted patent is in addition to GE’s U.S. Patent No. 7,629,705 that was included in the original lawsuit.

Continue reading “General Electric Expands Patent Fight Against Vestas”

November 17, 2017November 30, 2017 by Justus Getty

Strategic Solar Energy Settles Patent Suit Against Affordable Solar Installation

Strategic Solar Energy and Affordable Solar Installation have settled a patent infringement lawsuit.
Patents may provide valuable leverage against market competitors. Parties infringing a patent may face a court injunction against further infringing activities and monetary damages.

Arizona’s Strategic Solar Energy LLC has settled its patent infringement lawsuit against New Mexico-based competitor Affordable Solar Installation, Inc. Strategic, which designs and installs a solar panel canopy branded as the PowerParasol® canopy (see https://powerparasol.com/), filed the lawsuit in December 2016 to assert infringement of its U.S. Patent Number 8,825,500 (the ‘500 Patent). In a court order dated October 13, 2017, the case was dismissed due to a settlement between the parties.

Continue reading “Strategic Solar Energy Settles Patent Suit Against Affordable Solar Installation”