P3 and Smartlabs Settle Plug-in Energy Meter Patent Suit

October 11th, 2009 by Eric Lane Leave a reply »

p3_logo2.jpg

In a previous post, I discussed a patent suit between P3 International (P3), a New York consumer electronics company, and SmartLabs Inc. (SmartLabs), UPM Marketing Inc.  and UPM Technology USA, inc. (collectively “UPM”). 

In that case, P3 alleged that UPM’s plug-in energy meters infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,095,850 (‘850 patent).

P3 makes the Kill A Watt electric power meter, which allows consumers to determine how much energy particular appliances are using.   

P3 is the exclusive licensee of the ‘850 patent, which covers the Kill A Watt meter.  The ‘850 patent is directed to an electric adapter (1) having a plug (2) on its rear side which can be plugged into an electric socket (7). 

 850_fig.JPG

The adaptor has an outlet socket with three holes (3a, 3b, 3c) on the front and a display (4) to show electrical parameters of the appliance being monitored.

The parties recently filed a stipulation to dismiss the lawsuit, and Judge Denise L. Cote signed the stipulation (p3_stipulation.pdf) last month.  

The parties had previously agreed to narrow the issues in the case to only validity and enforceability of the ‘850 patent.  This efficient approach apparently led to early resolution of the dispute.

Advertisement

Comments are closed.