Several new green patent complaints were filed in late 2014 (late October, November, and December) in the areas of environmental remediation, LEDs, green dry cleaning solvents, and smart grid.
Environmental Remediation
Peroxychem LLC v. Innovative Environmental Technologies, Inc.
Peroxychem sued Innovative Environmental Technologies (IET) for patent infringement in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Â Filed November 7, 2014, the complaint alleges that IET infringes U.S. Patent No. 7,785,038 (‘038 Patent).
The ‘038 Patent is entitled “Oxidation of organic compounds” and directed to methods and compositions for treating organic compounds present in soil and groundwater involving the use of a composition comprising a solid state, water soluble peroxygen compound and zero valent iron.
According to the complaint, IET’s activities at a site called Hexcel in Lodi, New Jersey infringe the ‘038 Patent.
Neochloris, Inc. v. Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc. et al.
Filed December 3, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Neochloris’s complaint alleges that Emerson infringes U.S. Patent No. 6,845,336 (‘336 Patent).
The ‘336 Patent is entitled “Water treatment monitoring system” and directed to a monitoring system to receive data from water sensors, analyze water quality conditions inputted by the sensors and predict effluent water quality and process upsets. Â The monitoring system includes an artificial neural network module to determine solutions to actual and potential water quality and process upsets.
LEDs
Harvatek Corporation v. Cree, Inc.
Just weeks after Cree sued Harvatek for infringement of six patents relating to white light LED technology, Harvatek responded with a lawsuit of its own.  Harvatek filed a complaint December 5, 2014 in the Northern District of California, asserting one patent against Cree.
Entitled “Reflection-type light-emitting module with high heat-dissipating and high light-generating efficiency,” U.S. Patent No. 8,079,737 is directed to a reflection-type light-emitting module that includes a reflection-type lampshade unit with an open casing and a reflective structure formed on the open casing.
The accused products include the Cree LRP-28 series LED lamp.
Green Dry Cleaning Solvents
GreenEarth Cleaning, L.L.C. v. Personal Touch Valet Wholesale Bronx, Inc.
Kansas City-based GreenEarth Cleaning holds a number of patents directed to its environmentally friendly dry cleaning methods and solvents.  On December 23, 2014, GreenEarth sued Personal Touch Valet for alleged infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,942,007 (‘007 Patent).
The ‘007 Patent is directed to methods and systems of dry cleaning articles comprising several steps including immersing the articles to be dry cleaned in a dry cleaning fluid including a cyclic siloxane composition.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, alleges that Personal Touch Valet is in breach of a license agreement with GreenEarth and is infringing the ‘007 Patent and several other related patents.
GreenEarth previously sued Glyndon Laundry for patent and trademark infringement.
Smart Grid
Endeavor MeshTech, Inc. v. Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Endeavor MeshTech, Inc. v. Eaton Corporation
On October 31, 2014, Endeavor MeshTech (a wholly-owned subsidiary of patent monetization firm Endeavor IP) filed two more patent infringement complaints.  One was filed against Leviton Manufacturing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (Endeavor v. Leviton), and the other against Eaton in the Northern District of Ohio (Endeavor v. Eaton).
The complaints accuse each defendant of infringing three patents in a family – U.S. Patent Nos. 7,379,981,   8,700,749, and 8,855,019, each entitled “Wireless communication enabled meter and network.† The patents-in-suit relate to a self-configuring wireless network including a number of vnodes and VGATES.
