patent – Page 3 – Duane Morris Green IP

April 20, 2018 by Justus Getty

Federal Circuit Upholds Validity of Philips Patent on Dimmable LEDs

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board recently decided that a Philips patent on dimmable LED technology is valid despite a challenge from a competitor. That decision was later affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The patent at issue has been well-litigated, with Philips asserting the patent against numerous competitors in federal courts and at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

A patent directed to dimmable LED technology was upheld as valid in an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The patent is owned by Philips Lighting North America Corporation, a subsidiary of Dutch consumer product giant Koninklijke Philips N.V. The Federal Circuit’s decision marks the unsuccessful conclusion of a challenge to the patent’s validity brought by a competitor of Philips Lighting called Wangs Alliance Corporation, which does business under the name WAC Lighting. Continue reading “Federal Circuit Upholds Validity of Philips Patent on Dimmable LEDs”

April 11, 2018April 18, 2018 by Justus Getty

GE Opens a Second Front in Patent Fight with Vestas

GE filed petitions on Friday to challenge the validity of a pair of Vestas patents at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Those patents were asserted by Vestas against GE in related patent litigation in federal court.
GE and Vestas are now likely to continue their patent fight in two forums: the federal court hearing patent infringement claims between the parties and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board hearing GE’s validity challenges to the Vestas patents.

General Electric Co. has challenged a pair of patents owned by Vestas Wind Systems A/S at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. In petitions for inter partes review filed last Friday, GE alleges that the Vestas patents are invalid because they merely claim as inventions what was already known in the field of wind turbine technology. With the parties already engaged in litigation in U.S federal courts, GE’s move opens a second front in the ongoing patent fight with Vestas.

GE initially sued Vestas in July 2017, alleging that Vestas infringes GE’s U.S Patent No. 6,921,985. In November, GE expanded the lawsuit by adding another patent – GE’s U.S. Patent No. 7,629,705 – that GE asserted Vestas also infringes. Both of GE’s asserted patents are directed to technology for connecting wind turbines to power grids.
Continue reading “GE Opens a Second Front in Patent Fight with Vestas”

April 5, 2018 by Justus Getty

SemaConnect Wins Dismissal of ChargePoint’s Patent Lawsuit

A federal court dismissed claims of patent infringement brought by ChargePoint, Inc. against a rival in the EV charging station market, SemaConnect, Inc. The court found ChargePoint’s asserted patents to claim inventions that are ineligible for patent protection and thus unenforceable against SemaConnect.
ChargePoint has appealed the decision to the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which will hear arguments between the parties.

Electric vehicle (EV) charging station provider SemaConnect Inc. won dismissal of a patent infringement lawsuit brought in federal court in Maryland. The lawsuit, brought by ChargePoint Inc., was thrown out after the court found that all four of ChargePoint’s asserted patents claim inventions that are ineligible for patent protection. Specifically, the court found that the patents claim nothing more than an “abstract idea” as their invention.

SemaConnect CEO Mahi Reddy called the result a “vindication of our effort to support open standards and interoperability of charging networks and stations.” He added that “this outcome is also a big win for the charging industry, the electric vehicle industry, and utilities.” Continue reading “SemaConnect Wins Dismissal of ChargePoint’s Patent Lawsuit”

March 28, 2018 by Justus Getty

Alstom Grid Appeals, Reverses Dominion Energy’s Patent Win

Alstom Grid successfully reversed a jury verdict finding that Alstom infringed a Dominion Energy patent directed to smart grid management technology.
The appeal was heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which is the federal appeals court that takes all appeals of U.S. patent cases.

Alstom Grid LLC won an appeal at the Federal Circuit after last year suffering a patent trial loss to Dominion Energy, Inc. over smart grid management technology. In overturning the earlier jury verdict, the Federal Circuit stated that “no reasonable jury” could have found Alstom to infringe Dominion’s patent. Continue reading “Alstom Grid Appeals, Reverses Dominion Energy’s Patent Win”

February 6, 2018February 6, 2018 by Justus Getty

EV Charging Company to Rival: Your Patents Aren’t Valid

In a battle over EV charging station technology, a patent defendant has argued that the plaintiff’s technology is ineligible for patent protection and that the entire case should be dismissed from federal court.

Electric vehicle (EV) charging station provider SemaConnect, Inc., has requested that a patent lawsuit be dismissed because the asserted patents are invalid. The patents are owned by rival ChargePoint, Inc., an EV charging company that appears to have brought the lawsuit against SemaConnect after being shut out of a major installation contract. The contract was offered by Electrify America, the VW subsidiary that has pledged to spend $2 billion on EV infrastructure. You can find our earlier post on this case here. Continue reading “EV Charging Company to Rival: Your Patents Aren’t Valid”

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”

January 2, 2018January 2, 2018 by Justus Getty

IP Profile: Solar Panel Mounting Company Sollega, Inc.

This post was co-authored by Justus Getty and Nicole Candelori.

Sollega, a provider of modular solar panel mounting solutions, has taken steps to protect its intellectual property. Those steps include federally registering a trademark and obtaining a U.S. Patent.

San Francisco-based Sollega, Inc., specializes in the design and manufacturing of ballasted commercial flat-roof and ground mount racking solutions. While much of the focus of the solar industry has been on the rapidly decreasing prices for solar panels (for example, see our earlier post here), Sollega is looking to reduce the cost associated with a different part of the solar equation: installation. Sollega states that its modular mounting racks with pre-set inclines offer the potential to more quickly install solar panels and thus achieve substantial savings in labor costs. Continue reading “IP Profile: Solar Panel Mounting Company Sollega, Inc.”

November 28, 2017November 30, 2017 by Justus Getty

What Patents Did Bankrupt SunEdison Sell to China’s GLC-Poly Energy?

As a result of bankruptcy, SunEdison will sell a portfolio of more than 100 patents and 200 patent applications to China’s GLC-Poly Energy Holdings.
The bulk of the portfolio is directed to SunEdison’s proprietary materials and processes for manufacturing a solar panel.
Transfer of ownership to GLC-Poly may complicate business for former SunEdison supplier SMP Ltd.

Last month the judge overseeing SunEdison Inc.’s bankruptcy denied an effort by South Korea-based SMP Ltd. to prevent the sale of SunEdison’s patent portfolio. SMP, which was formed as a joint venture between Samsung and SunEdison to supply key elements of SunEdison’s solar panels, had argued that Korean law prevented SunEdison from terminating a supply and license agreement. If SMP prevailed on this argument, then SunEdison would have been unable to terminate the supply and license agreement, and as a result would have been prevented from selling its patent portfolio. Continue reading “What Patents Did Bankrupt SunEdison Sell to China’s GLC-Poly Energy?”

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”