A number of new green patent infringement complaints were filed in March and April in the fields of LEDs and OLEDs, battery life conservation, and solar power.

LEDs and OLEDs

AfterGlow, LLC v. Bright Path Lighting, Inc.

CURRENT LIGHTING SOLUTIONS, LLC et al v. CREE, INC.

NEXT Lighting Corp v. Acuity Brands Lighting Inc

SEOUL SEMICONDUCTOR CO., LTD. et al v. Satco Products, Inc.

Solas OLED Ltd. v. LG Display Co., Ltd. et al

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Shenzhen Gosund Technology Co., Ltd

TECHNICAL LED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, LLC v. IKEA NORTH AMERICA SERVICES, LLC

Lighting Science Group Corp. v. Acuity Brands, Inc. et al

Lighting Science Group Corp. v. Eaton Corporation plc et al

Lighting Science Group Corp. v. General Electric Company et al

Lighting Science Group Corp. v. Lumileds Holdings B.V. et al

Lighting Science Group Corp. v. Signify N.V. et al

Lighting Science Group Corp. et al v. Leedarson Lighting Co., Ltd. et al

Lighting Science Group Corp. v. Nichia Corporation et al

Battery Life Conservation

Battery Conservation Innovations, LLC v. InMotion Technology LLC

Battery Conservation Innovations, LLC v. Nite Ize, Inc.

Solar Power

Hanwha Q CELLS & Advanced Materials Corporation v. JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. et al.

Hanwha Q CELLS & Advanced Materials Corporation v. LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. et al

Hanwha Q CELLS & Advanced Materials Corporation v. REC Solar Holdings AS et al.

A number of new green patent complaints were filed in January and February of 2019 in the areas of aeco-friendly pet products, LED lighting technologies and solar power.

Eco-friendly Pet Products

The Green Pet Shop Enterprises LLC v. Briggs Healthcare

The Green Pet Shop Enterprises, LLC v. Chili Technology, LLC

LEDs

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Aduro Technologies LLC

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. BVGA Mipow (USA) CO., LTD

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Culver LED Lighting Solutions Corp.

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Feit Electric Company, Inc.

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Lifi Labs, Inc., LIFX

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Nora Lighting, Inc.

Blackbird Tech LLC v. 9280-0366 Quebec Inc.

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Lighting Science Group Corporation

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Technical Consumer Products, Inc.

Espen Technology, Inc. v. YJB LED, Inc.

Max Blu Technologies, LLC v. Fry’s Electronics, Inc.

Solar Power

Permacity Corp. v. Orion Solar Racking Inc. et al

A number of new green patent complaints were filed in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2018 in the areas of advanced batteries, green fitness equipment, eco-friendly pet products, LEDs and lighting control technologies, smart grid, solar power, and water technologies.

Advanced Batteries

Celgard, LLC v. MTI Corporation

Green Fitness Equipment

Green Fitness Equipment Company, LLC v. Precor Inc. et al

Green Pet Products

The Green Pet Shop Enterprises, LLC v. Fine Promotions

LEDs and Lighting Technologies

ETi Solid State Lighting, Inc. v. Menard, Inc.

Lemaire Illumination Technologies, LLC v. Huawei Technologies USA Inc. et al

LG Innotek Co., Ltd. v. MelodySusie Brand Industrial Co., Limited et al

LG Innotek Co.Ltd. v. Evergreat, Inc. et al

Next Lighting Corporation v. Cree, Inc.

Polaris PowerLED Technologies, LLC v. VIZIO, Inc.

SengLED USA, Inc. and Zhejiang Shenghui Lighting Co., Ltd. v. TVL International LLC

Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. v. Bolb, Inc. et al

Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. et al v. Fry’s Electronics, Inc.

Sovereign Peak Ventures, LLC v. Feit Electric Company, Inc.

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Ilumi Solutions, Inc.

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Lumenty Technologies, Inc.

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Lumenty Technologies, Inc. 2

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Sengled USA, Inc.

YJB LED, Inc. v. AXP Technology, Inc.

Smart Grid

SIPCO LLC v. Emerson Electric Co. et al

Sipco v. Fibar

SIPCO, LLC v. AEON LABS, LLC

SIPCO, LLC v. FrontPoint Security Solutions, LLC

Solar

Smart Solar Inc. dba Smart Living Home & Garden v. Sky Billiards, Inc. dba Best Choice Products

Water Technologies

Waters Corporation and Waters Technologies Corporation v. Agilent Technologies Inc.

There were several new green patent lawsuits filed in November and December in the areas of eco-friendly pet products, electric vehicle charging, LEDs, smart grid, and solar mounting systems.

Green Pet Products

The Green Pet Shop Enterprises, LLC v. PetEdge, Inc.

This lawsuit involves pet pad technology that cools your pets without water or electricity.  The complaint was filed December 29, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The asserted patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 8,720,218 and 9,226,474, both entitled “Pressure activated recharging cooling platform” and directed to a cooling platform comprising a temperature regulation layer, a support layer, and a channeled covering layer.

The temperature regulation layer is adapted to hold a composition and has a plurality of angled segments, wherein angled segments within a sealed perimeter of the temperature regulation layer are formed by a top side and a bottom side at a predefined distance, and channels, wherein the channels substantially form sides by contacting the top side with the bottom side at a distance lesser than the predefined distance.

The complaint alleges that the defendant’s Slumber Pet Cool Pup Pad infringes the two patents.

EV Charging

ChargePoint, Inc. v. SemaConnect

ChargePoint sued SemaConnect alleging infringement of four electric vehicle charging patents.

The asserted patents are:

U.S. Patent No. 7,956,570, entitled “Network-controlled charging system for electric vehicles”

U.S. Patent No. 8,138,715, entitled “Network-controlled charging system for electric vehicles through use of a remote server”

U.S. Patent No. 8,432,131, entitled “Network-controlled charging system for electric vehicles”

U.S. Patent No. 8,450,967, entitled “Network-controlled charging system for electric vehicles”

The accused products are SemaConnect’s Charge Prop community electric vehicle charging stations.

The complaint was filed December 15, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

LEDs

ETi Solid State Lighting, Inc. v. Satco Products, Inc.

ETi accused Satco of infringing two patents relating to flush mount LED lighting products for use with screw-in incandescent bulb sockets.

The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Nos. 9,500,352 and 9,541,270, both of which are titled “Integral LED light fixture” and directed to an integral LED light fixture for installation in an incandescent light bulb socket including a housing with a forwardly-extending portion and peripheral outer walls defining a recess, a rearwardly-extending socket base to be screwed into an incandescent light bulb socket, electrical components including a printed circuit board having a set of LEDs, and a lens for covering the printed circuit board and being attached to the housing.

Filed November 15, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the complaint lists as accused products include Satco-Nuvo screw-on utility fixtures.

Lemaire Illumination Technologies, LLC v. Microsoft Corporation et al.

In this complaint, filed November 7, 2017 in federal court in Marshall, Texas, Lemaire has asserted three LED patents against Microsoft.

The asserted patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 6,095,661 (‘661 Patent), 6,488,390 (‘390 Patent) and 9,119,266 (‘266 Patent).

The ‘661 Patent is entitled “Method and apparatus for an L.E.D. flashlight” and the ‘390 Patent is entitled “Color-adjusted camera light and method” and these related patents are directed to an LED flashlight including  a control circuit for maintaining a predetermined light output level of the LED units as a charge on a battery varies.

The ‘266 Patent is entitled “Pulsed L.E.D. illumination apparatus and method” and directed to an illumination source for a camera including one or more LEDs and a control circuit for driving the LEDs with electrical pulses at a frequency high enough that light produced has an appearance to a human user of being continuous rather than pulsed.

The accused products are Microsoft Lumia 950 XL and Lumia 950 Single SIM smartphones.

Cree, Inc. v. Milwaukee Wholesale LLC et al.

Cree sued Milwaukee Wholesale December 28, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

The complaint alleges that the defendants are selling knock-offs of Cree’s CPY 250 Canopy/Soffit luminaire.

The knock-offs allegedly infringe two design patents:  D721,844 and D743,084, each titled “Light fixture.” and infringe trade dress of Cree’s products.

General LED OpCo, LLC v. Pincipal LED, LLC

This lawsuit asserts U.S. Patent No., 9,702,531, entitled “Retrofit system and method for replacing linear fluorescent lamp with LED modules” (‘531 Patent).

Filed December 20, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the complaint alleges that Defendant’s Tap Out, Slim Stik, and Street Stik linear fluorescent lighting products.

The ‘531 Patent is directed to a system for replacing linear fluorescent lamps with LED modules in a cabinet sign including an LED module support structure.  The LED module support structure may be attached to the raceways of the cabinet sign or to the sockets formerly used for mounting fluorescent lamps between the raceways.

Bluestone Innovations, LLC v. General Electric Company

Bluestone Innovations, LLC v. Cree, Inc.

Bluestone Innovations, LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc.

In each of these lawsuits, Bluestone alleges infringement of  U.S. Patent No. 6,163,557 (‘557 Patent).

The ‘557 Patent is entitled “Fabrication of group III-V nitrides on mesas” and directed to group III-V nitride films fabricated on mesas patterned either on substrates such as sapphire substrates or on group III-V nitride layers grown on substrates. The mesas provide reduced area surfaces for epitaxially growing group III-V nitride films to reduce thermal film stresses in the films to minimize cracking.

All the lawsuits were filed in federal court in San Francisco, the complaint against Amazon (Bluestone Innovations LLC v. AMAZON.COM,INC.) on November 30, 2017 and the complaints against GE (Bluestone Innovations LLC v. General Electric Company) and Cree (Bluestone Innovations LLC v. Cree, Inc.) on December 4, 2017.

The complaints list as accused products various brands and models of LED lightbulbs with epitaxial film.

Smart Grid

Banertek LLC v. ecobee, Inc.

This lawsuit was filed November 17, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Banertek alleges that ecobee infringes U.S. Patent No. 6,839,731, entitled “System and method for providing data communication in a device network” (‘731 Patent).

The ‘731 Patent is directed to a system and method for facilitating data communications in a device network.  The system and method includes premises-server computing devices, a central communication device, and a number of client computing devices. Each client computing device communicates with the central communication device to request access to device data from the premises-server computing devices. Once access rights are established, the client computing devices communicate directly with specific premises-server computing devices.

According to the complaint, ecobee provides systems with premises server computing devices in communication with devices such as room sensors, HVAC fans, etc., a central communication device such as the ecobee server, and a client computing device.

Solar Mounting Systems

Rillito River Solar LLC v. IronRidge Inc.

Rillito River Solar LLC v. Wencon Development Inc.

The IronRidge complaint, filed December 6, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, alleges infringement of two solar mounting system patents.

U.S. Patent Nos. 9,774,292 and 9,793,853 are entitled “Roofing grommet forming a seal between a roof-mounted structure and a roof” and directed to a roof mount assembly including a piece of flashing positioned on the substrate.  The flashing includes a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface and an aperture extending through the flashing.  A fastener extends through the flashing aperture, a bracket is connected to the flashing via the fastener, and a water-tight seal is positioned between the flashing aperture and the fastener.

The accused product is IronRidge’s FlashFoot 2 mounting system.

The Wencon complaint was filed November 22, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Northern Distric of California and asserts infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,526,701 (‘701 Patent).

Entitled “Roof mount,” the ‘701 Patent is directed to a roof mount including a base member, an attachment mount, and a spacer extending the base member to a roof surface. The base member has a protrusion, and the attachment mount defines a hollowed region for receiving the protrusion to form a compression fitting.  A substantially leak proof assembly is formed when the attachment mount is placed against the base member with a sealing material therebetween.

The World Intellectual Property Organization recently released its 2017 IP report entitled “Intangible Capital in Global Value Chains.”

The report tackles several questions about the types, roles, and importance of intangible assets in global value chains.  One key question is what role intellectual property plays in generating a return on these assets.

Although much of the report deals with traditional consumer products such as coffee and smartphones, of interest to readers of this blog is the chapter on innovation in the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry and, particularly, the section on PV related patent filings.

The report notes that the number of patent filing increased from less than 2,500 in the early 2000s to over 16,000 in 2011, a reflection of the growing market demand for PV installations.  Most of those technologies originated in Japan and US until 2008, but by 2010 China had surged ahead to become the top PV patent filing economy.

The report addresses the question of China’s technological catch-up, positing that China enjoyed technology transfer by purchasing production equipment from international suppliers and cultivating skilled executives educated abroad to work for Chinese companies and teach at Chinese universities.

Another finding is that China, in particular, patents minor inventions or incremental improvements while maintaining critical innovations focusing on process as trade secrets.  From this the report concludes that process innovations “are instrumental for introducing new PV products into the market and maintaining existing ones.”

According to the report, a more detailed look at the patent filings reveals that about two thirds of patenting activity relates to cell and module technologies; silicon, ingots and wafers constituted under 10% of patent filings, and the remainder is equipment.

The report finds that the growth in PV patenting activity has reversed recently; between 2011 and 2015, the number of PV-related patent filings fell by 44 percent.  This fall has occurred in all major PV innovating countries except China.

The decrease is a result of two forces, the report concludes.  The first is a decline in the number of applicants (though the number of applications per applicant has increased), particularly in the US, Germany, Japan and Korea.  This is because many players have exited the market, and market entry is difficult.

The remaining players, however, seem to be filing more patent applications and increasing their R&D intensity.  This focus on the next generation of technologies “suggests that IP-protected knowledge assets may become more valuable in this time of sectoral recomposition.”

The second reason for the decrease is a reduction of the internationalization of PV patents.  In other words, applicants are filing in fewer countries outside their home country, opting out of international patent protection.  The report finds that in the mid-2000s, each PV invention was filed on average in three different patent offices, but by 2015, the average was only 1.5.

The report notes that PV patent applicants typically file in only a few countries/jurisdictions (China, US, Japan, Korea and Europe) and rarely file in, e.g., Australia, Russia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, or anywhere else.

While most innovation studies focus exclusively on patent data, the report has an interesting section on “reputational assets” such as trademarks and brand-related activities.

The report finds that trademark protection for PV products and services has grown in the last decade.  Data from the US and international trademark application databases show that PV-related trademark filings were four to six times higher in 2016 than they were in 2005.

In the conclusion to the PV IP chapter, the report states that because PV panels and systems are now “mostly commodities rather than differentiated goods . . . the dynamics of the industry have been profoundly driven by strategies to reduce production costs, rather than by product innovation.”  In addition, the solar PV market is “saturated with an incumbent technology whose depressed prices provide tight profit margins for companies.”  Accordingly:

Firms can dedicate their R&D efforts either to high-level process innovations that will reduce production costs in the dominant technology, or to new solar PV product innovations whose production prices are below those for the incumbent technology.

With respect to China, the report calls the PV industry “a case study of a compelete form of technology transfer to an emerging economy.”

Several new green patent complaints were filed in July and August in the areas of advanced batteries, electrolyzers for sewage treatment, LED lighting, eco-friendly pet products, solar powered trash compactors, and wind turbines.

Advanced Batteries

Somaltus LLC v. Universal Power Group

Somaltus LLC v. Tenergy Corporation

Somaltus LLC v. Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.

On July 26, 2017 Somaltus, a non-practicing entity, filed three patent infringement lawsuits against Universal Power Group (Somaltus v. Universal Power Group), Tenergy (Somaltus LLC v. Tenergy Corporation), and Maxim Integrated Products (Somaltus LLC v. Maxim Integrated Products Inc.).  The complaints were filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Each lawsuit asserts U.S. Patent No. 7,657,386, entitled “Integrated battery service system (‘386 Patent).

The ‘386 Patent is  directed to an integrated battery service system that performs a plurality of services related to a battery, such as battery testing, battery charging, and the like. In addition, the integrated service system provides services to devices/components that are coupled to the battery, such as starters, alternators, etc.

The accused products are Universal Power Group’s 24 v 8 amp Premium Quality Heavy Duty XLR 3-pin off-board Sealed AGM, GEL Universal 24BC8000T-1 battery charger, Tenergy’s T-9688 Universal 4 By NiMh/NiCd Smart Chargers, and Maxim’s Max77301 JEITA-Compliant Li+ Charger with Smart Power Selector.

Marine Sewage Treatment

DeNora Water Technologies Texas, LLC v. H2O, Inc.

This lawsuit involves bookcell electrolyzer technology used for oxidizing sewage.

The asserted patent is U.S. Patent No. 6,379,525, entitled “Enhanced electrolyzer” and directed to an electrolyzer including a housing having an inlet and an outlet at a common end.  Within the housing are disposed electrode elements, a passageway that connects the inlet to the outlet, and a divider is disposed in the passageway between the inlet and outlet. The divider causes fluid entering the inlet to flow through one section of the passageway and then through another section of the passageway before exiting through the outlet.

The complaint was filed August 17, 2017 in federal court in Houston, Texas, and lists Defendant’s multi-pass bookcell electrolyzers as the accused products.

LEDs

Bitro Group Inc. v. Advanced Lighting Concepts, Inc.

Bitro sued Advanced Lighting Concepts (ALC) August 24, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey asserting infringement of U.S. Patent No. 9,113,558 (‘558 Patent).

The ‘558 Patent is entitled “LED mount bar capable of freely forming curved surfaces thereon” and directed to an LED tape light strip with a structure that allows it to be bent in the direction of its width so it can be used for lighting that must conform to unique shapes.

The accused product listed in Bitro’s complaint is Defendant’s CurrentControl Bendable ZigZag LED Strip Light.

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Ontel Products Corporation

Filed August 23, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Blackbird’s complaint alleges that Ontel Products infringes U.S. Patent No. 6,883,927 (‘927 Patent).

Entitled “Frame assembly and light for an electrical wall conduit,” the ‘927 Patent is directed to a frame assembly for covering a wall conduit having a connection to electrical power.  The frame assembly comprises a light powered by an electrical circuit connected to the connection and a frame for housing the light.  The frame has an opening allowing access to the component through the frame, a side and an aperture in the side allowing the light to illuminate a space outside the frame assembly through the aperture.

The accused products are Ontel’s Night Angel electrical wall outlet covers.

Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Lite-On, Inc. et al.

Document Security Systems (DSS) filed this lawsuit against Lite-On August 15, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California asserting three LED patents.

The complaint contains a long list of accused products, e.g., many of Lite-On’s PLCC Series LED products, including both single color and multi-color lights.

The asserted patents are:

U.S. Patent No. 6,949,771, entitled “Light source”

U.S. Patent No. 7,524,087, entitled “Optical Device”

U.S. Patent No. 7,256,486, entitled “Packing device for semiconductor die, semiconductor device incorporating same and method of making same”

Technical LED Intellectual Property, LLC v. Osram Sylvania Inc.

Technical LED IP sued Osram on August 9, 2017 for alleged infringement of two patents relating to phosphor-based LED lights.  The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

The asserted patents are U.S. Patent Nos. RE41,685 (‘685 Patent) and 6,373,188 (‘188 Patent).

The ‘685 Patent is entitled “Light source with non-white and phosphor-based white LED devices, and LCD assembly” and directed to a light source incorporating phosphor-based white and non-white LEDs, which may be raised off the floor of the optical cavity to permit light to be emitted from the base of the LED.  A reflective protrusion may be placed beneath the raised LED to aid in redirecting light forward, and the LEDs may be skewed in relation to adjacent LEDs to reduce interference.

Entitled “Efficient solid-state light emitting device with excited phosphors for producing a visible light output,” the ‘188 Patent is directed to a solid-state light emitting device in which phosphors excited by radiation produce visible light.  The efficiency of the device is increased by providing a reflector adjacent to the phosphor layer for reflecting at least some of the radiation that passes through the phosphor back into the phosphor. The reflector may also reflect at least some of the visible light that is emitted by the phosphor toward a designated light output.

The accused products include, among others, Osram’s LEP-2100-840-HD-C,  LEP-2100-930-HD-C, LEP-800-840-HD-C, LEP800-930-HD-C, LED12A19/DIM/F/927, LCW CP7P-KPKR-5R8T, and LE CW E3B-NYPZ-QRRU models.

Green Pet Products

The Green Pet Shop Enterprises, LLC v. Unique Petz, Inc.

The Green Pet Shop Enterprises, LLC v. C&A Marketing, Inc.

The Green Pet Shop Enterprises, LLC v. European Home Design, LLC

The Green Pet Shop Enterprises, LLC v. Telebrands Corporation

These lawsuits involve pet pad technology that cools your pets without water or electricity.  These four complaints were filed August 16 and 17, 2017 in federal court in New Jersey and New York (THE GREEN PET SHOP ENTERPRISES, LLC v. C&A MARKETING, INC.; The Green Pet Shop Enterprises, LLC v. European Home Design, LLC; THE GREEN PET SHOP ENTERPRISES, LLC v. TELEBRANDS CORPORATION; The Green Pet Shop Enterprises, LLC v. Unique Petz, Inc.).

The asserted patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 8,720,218 and 9,226,474, both entitled “Pressure activated recharging cooling platform” and directed to a cooling platform comprising a temperature regulation layer, a support layer, and a channeled covering layer.  The temperature regulation layer is adapted to hold a composition and has a plurality of angled segments, wherein angled segments within a sealed perimeter of the temperature regulation layer are formed by a top side and a bottom side at a predefined distance, and channels, wherein the channels substantially form sides by contacting the top side with the bottom side at a distance lesser than the predefined distance.

The complaints allege that the defendants’ respective cooling mat products infringe the two patents.

Solar Powered Trash Compactors

BigBelly Solar, Inc. v. Ecube Labs Co.

In this lawsuit filed July 28, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, BigBelly asserts two patents relating to solar powered compaction technology.

U.S. Patent Nos. 7,124,680 and 7,481,159 are related patents, each entitled “Solar powered compaction apparatus” and directed to a trash compactor powered by a photovoltaic cell array.  The compaction feature allows the unit to be emptied less often than a typical trash container.  A removable bin allows easy removal of the compacted trash and can include multiple chambers for different trash types.

BigBelly’s complaint alleges that Ecube’s Clean CUBE product infringes the patents.

Wind Power

General Electric Co. v. Vestas Wind Systems A/S et al.

In this important wind industry lawsuit involving Zero Voltage Ride Through (ZVRT) technology, GE alleges that its Danish competitor, Vestas, infringes U.S. Patent No. 7,629,705 (‘705 Patent).

The ‘705 Patent is entitled “Method and apparatus for operating electrical machines” and directed to methods of facilitating zero voltage ride through so the turbine can remain online during voltage dips down to zero volts.

The complaint was filed July 31, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of California and lists the accused products as Vestas’ V90-3.0, V100-2.0, V112-3.0 and V117-3.3 wind turbines.

GE had a big win against Mitsubishi with this patent back in 2012.

There were many new green patent complaints filed in March and April in the areas of advanced batteries, fuel efficiency, green cleaning solvents, LEDs, smart grid, and solar power.

Advanced Batteries

Somaltus LLC v. Johnson Outdoors, Inc.

On March 14, 2017 Somaltus, a non-practicing entity, filed a patent infringement complaint against Johnson Outdoors in federal court in Marshall, Texas.

The lawsuit asserts U.S. Patent No. 7,657,386, entitled “Integrated battery service system (‘386 Patent).

The ‘386 Patent is  directed to an integrated battery service system that performs a plurality of services related to a battery, such as battery testing, battery charging, and the like. In addition, the integrated service system provides services to devices/components that are coupled to the battery, such as starters, alternators, etc.

The accused products are Minn Kota Digital Onboard Chargers.

Fuel Efficiency

Transtex LLC et al. v. WABCO Holdings Inc.

In this lawsuit involving aerodynamic trailer skirts for improving the efficiency of truck trailers, Transtex has asserted eight patents against WABCO.

The patents are as follows:

U.S. Patent No. 7,748,772, entitled “Resilient aerodynamic trailer skirts “

U.S. Patent No. 7,887,120, entitled “Aerodynamic trailer skirts”

U.S. Patent No. 7,942,467, entitled “Aerodynamic skirt support member”

U.S. Patent No. 7,942,469, entitled “Aerodynamic skirt panel”

U.S. Patent No. 7,942,471, entitled “Aerodynamic skirt shape”

U.S. Patent No. 8,292,351, entitled “Resilient strut for aerodynamic skirt”

U.S. Patent No. 8,449,017, entitled “Aerodynamic skirt resilient member”

U.S. Patent No. 8,678,474, entitled “Self-repositioning aerodynamic skirt”

The accused products are the TrailerSkirt TS248 and TS259 flat panel trailer skirts.

Green Cleaning Solvents

GreenEarth Cleaning, LLC v. Natomas Fresh Cleaners, Inc.

This action for patent infringement, trademark infringement, and breach of contract was filed April 18, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Although the complaint lists nine patents, there is only one count of patent infringement asserting U.S. Patent No. 5,942,007 (‘007 Patent).

The ‘007 Patent is entitled “Dry cleaning method and solvent” and directed to dry cleaning methods comprising the steps of immersing clothes in a dry cleaning fluid including a cyclic siloxane composition, agitating the clothes in the composition, and then removing the cyclic siloxane composition by centrifugal action and air circulation.

According to the Abstract of the ‘007 Patent, the “cyclic-siloxane-based solvent allows the system to result in an environmentally friendly process which is, also, more effective in cleaning fabrics and the like than any known prior system.”

GreenEarth alleges that Natomas Fresh, which had a license from GreenEarth, continues to use liquid silicone as a dry cleaning solvent though it is no longer a licensee.

LEDs

Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Seoul Semiconductor Co. et al.

Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Everlight Electronics Co. et al.

Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Cree, Inc.

In three lawsuits filed April 13, 2017 in federal court in Marshall, Texas, Document Security Systems has sued Seoul Semiconductor (Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. et al.), Everlight Electronics (Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. et al.), and Cree (Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Cree, Inc.).

The combination of asserted patents varies by suit but comprise the following:

U.S. Patent No. 6,949,771, entitled “Light source”

U.S. Patent No. 7,256,486, entitled “Packing device for semiconductor die, semiconductor device incorporating same and method of making same”

U.S. Patent No. 7,279,355, entitled “Method for fabricating a packing device for semiconductor die and semiconductor device incorporating same”

U.S. Patent No. 7,524,087, entitled “Optional Device”

U.S. Patent No. 7,919,787, entitled “Semiconductor device with a light emitting semiconductor die”

The accused products include LED devices for the automotive market.

Epistar Corporation v. Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

Epistar sued Lowe’s for patent infringement on April 28, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The patents-in-suit are:

U.S. Patent No. 6,346,771, entitled “High power LED lamp”

U.S. Patent No. 7,560,738, entitled “Light-emitting diode array having an adhesive layer”

U.S. Patent No. 8,791,467, entitled “Light emitting diode and method of making the same”

U.S. Patent No. 8,492,780, entitled “Light-emitting device and manufacturing method thereof”

U.S. Patent No. 8,587,020, entitled “LED Lamps”

According to the complaint, the Kichler Lighting 60 W equivalent dimmable bulb, the Utilitech 60 W equivalent warm white bulb and similar products infringe the patents.

Golight, Inc. v. KH Industries, Inc. et al.

Filed March 1, 2017 in the U.S.District Court for the District of Colorado, Golight’s lawsuit asserts U.S. Patent No. 9,255,687, entitled “LED system and housing for use with halogen light fixtures” (‘687 Patent).

The complaint alleges that KH’s LED NightRay line of lighting products infringes the ‘687 Patent.

The ‘687 Patent is directed to an optical projection lens for mounting in front of LEDs.  The lens has a plurality of protrusions of varying thickness wherein the outermost edges of each protrusion has the thickest measurement, the center of each protrusion has the thinnest measurement, and the protrusions merge individual beams of light into a single beam of light.

Lemaire Illumination Technologies, LLC v. LG Electronics USA, Inc. et al.

Lemaire Illumination Technologies sued LG for alleged infringement of three patents relating to LED lighting technology.

The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Nos. 6,095,661 (‘661 Patent), 6,488,390 (‘390 Patent) and 9,119,266 (‘266 Patent).

The ‘661 Patent is entitled “Method and apparatus for an L.E.D. flashlight” and the ‘390 Patent is entitled “Color-adjusted camera light and method” and these related patents are directed to an LED flashlight including  a control circuit for maintaining a predetermined light output level of the LED units as a charge on a battery varies.

The ‘266 Patent is entitled “Pulsed L.E.D. illumination apparatus and method” and directed to an illumination source for a camera including one or more LEDs and a control circuit for driving the LEDs with electrical pulses at a frequency high enough that light produced has an appearance to a human user of being continuous rather than pulsed.

Filed in federal court in Marshall, Texas on April 14, 2017, the complaint lists the LG G3 and G4 smartphones as accused devices.

Philips Lighting North America Corporation et al. v. Deco Enterprises, Inc.

In a lawsuit filed April 12, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Philips asserted five patents related to LED drivers and circuits against Deco.

The patents-in-suit are:

U.S. Patent No. 6,094,014, entitled “Circuit arrangement, and signaling light provided with the circuit arrangement”

U.S. Patent No. 6,586,890, entitled “LED driver circuit with PWM output”

U.S. Patent No. 7,038,399, entitled “Methods and apparatus for providing power to lighting devices”

U.S. Patent No. 7,262,559, entitled “LEDS driver”

U.S. Patent No. 8,070,328, entitled “LED downlight”

The accused devices listed in the complaint include the Lucera series surface-mounted LED lighting fixtures.

Putco, Inc. v. Metra Electronics

This lawsuit involves LED headlight technology.  Putco alleges that Metra’s Heise Lighting Ssystems LED headlight replacement kits infringe U.S. Patent No. 9,243,796, entitled “LED lamp with a flexible heat sink” (‘796 Patent).

The ‘796 Patent is directed to an LED lamp with a flexible heat sink and a method of installing the lamp into a light fixture.

The complaint was filed March 10, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

Blackbird Tech v. Civilight North America

Blackbird Tech v. Euri Lighting

Blackbird Tech v. Great Eagle Lighting

Blackbird Tech v. MSI Lighting

Blackbird Tech v. Satco Products

Blackbird Tech v. S.E.L.S.

Blackbird Tech initiated several new lawsuits April 19, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

The asserted patent in these suits is U.S. Patent No. 7,114,834 (‘834 Patent).  Entitled “LED lighting apparatus,” the ‘834 Patent is directed to a light comprising a housing, a plurality of LED lights coupled in an array inside of the housing, and a reflective protrusion for reflecting light from the LED lights out of the housing.

The LED array receives a consistent flow of DC current that will not result in the LED lights burning out. To prevent the LED array from burning out there is also a current regulator for controlling a current flowing through this LED array.

The complaints can be found here: Blackbird Tech LLC v. Civilight North America Corp.; Blackbird Tech LLC v. Euri Lighting; Blackbird Tech LLC v. Great Eagle Lighting Corporation; Blackbird Tech LLC v. MSI Lighting, Inc.; Blackbird Tech LLC v. S.E.L.S. USA, LLC; Blackbird Tech LLC v. Satco Products, Inc..

Smart Grid

Clean Energy Management Solutions, LLC v. ABB Inc.

Clean Energy has asserted infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,577,962 (‘962 Patent).  The complaint was filed March 1, 2017 in federal court in Marshall, Texas and names ABB as the sole defendant.

Entitled “System and method for forecasting energy usage load,” the ‘962 Patent is directed to systems and methods for forecasting energy usage load for a facility including a parameter identification module for determining periodic energy load usage of the facility and a load prediction module for generating energy usage load forecast profiles for the facility.  A set of matrices may include a matrix for storing coefficients for determining periodic changes in energy load usage, and a model parameter matrix for storing load parameter information.

The accused product is ABB’s Energy Management Software with Energy Management and Optimization Solution.

Solar Power

Allsop, Inc. v. Ambient Lighting, Inc.

Allsop sued Ambient for alleged infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 8,657,461 and 8,192,044, both entitled “Solar-powered collapsible lighting apparatus” and directed to a solar-powered lighting apparatus having a light transmissible spherical shade coupled to a housing that receives a solar cell, a battery and at least a portion of a lighting element assembly.

The complaint was filed April 10, 2017 in federal court in Seattle.

The accused product are several models of Ambient’s collapsible lanterns, including the “Coastal Blues 12” solar lanterns.

Rillito River Solar LLC v. Ecolibrium Solar Inc.

Rillito River Solar sued Ecolibrium March 22, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

The complaint alleges that Ecolibrium’s EcoX line of products infringe U.S. Patent No. 9,422,723, entitled “Roofing grommet forming a seal between a roof-mounted structure and a roof” (‘723 Patent).

The ‘723 Patent is directed to a roof mount assembly including a piece of flashing positioned on the substrate.  The flashing includes a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface and an aperture extending through the flashing.  A fastener extends through the flashing aperture, a bracket is connected to the flashing via the fastener, and a water-tight seal is positioned between the flashing aperture and the fastener.

Several new green patent complaints were filed in January and February in the areas of advanced batteries, waste-to-energy feedstocks, energy-efficient exercise equipment, and LEDs.

Advanced Batteries

Advanced Electrolyte Technologies LLC et al. v. ESDI LLC et al.

Advanced Electrolyte Technologies (AET) sued ESDI and several divisions of Samsung in a complaint filed January 18, 2017 in federal court in Austin, Texas.

AET alleges that the defendants infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,033,809 (‘809 Patent) and U.S. Patent No. 6,927,001 (‘001 Patent), which relate to electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries.

The ‘809 Patent is entitled “Lithium secondary battery and electrolyte thereof” and directed to non-aqueous electrolyte lithium secondary battery comprising a cathode, an anode and a non-aqueous electrolyte comprising an electrolyte dissolved in a non-aqueous solvent, wherein the solvent contains a cyclic carbonate, a linear carbonate, and a sultone derivative.

Entitled “Non-aqueous electrolyte solution and lithium secondary battery,” the ‘001 Patent is directed to non-aqueous electrolytic solution composed of two or more organic compounds dissolved in a solvent composed of a cyclic carbonate and a chain carbonate in which both of the organic compounds have a reduction potential higher than those of the cyclic and chain carbonates, and in which one of the organic compounds has a reduction potential equal to that of another organic compound or has a reduction potential lower or higher than that of another organic compound.

The complaint contains a long list of accused products including batteries used in the Samsung Chromebook 3 and 7 Spin, as well as batteries used in several Samsung Galaxy devices.

Somaltus LLC v. Cummins, Inc. et al.

Somaltus LLC v. Honeywell International, Inc.

Somaltus LLC v. Minn Kota, Inc.

Somaltus LLC v. Pro Charging Systems, LLC

Somaltus, a non-practicing entity, filed four new lawsuits on January 12, 2017, all federal court in Marshall, Texas, against Cummins (Somaltus v. Cummins), Honeywell (Somaltus v. Honeywell), Minn Kota (Somaltus v. Minn Kota), and Pro Charging Systems (Somaltus v. Pro Charging Systems).

Each suit asserts U.S. Patent No. 7,657,386, entitled “Integrated battery service system (‘386 Patent).

The ‘386 Patent is  directed to an integrated battery service system that performs a plurality of services related to a battery, such as battery testing, battery charging, and the like. In addition, the integrated service system provides services to devices/components that are coupled to the battery, such as starters, alternators, etc.

The accused products are the Cummins Energy Command (EC-30) power generation system, Honeywell’s 2.1 Amp Dual USB AC Charging Adapter, the 2.1 Amp Single USB AC Charging Adapter, and the Ovale 4.2 Amp Smart Charging Station, the Minn Kota Digital Onboard Charger, and the Pro Charging Systems Dual Pro Eagle Chargers.

Waste-to-energy Feedstocks

Accordant Energy, LLC v. Vexor Technology, Inc. et al.

In this lawsuit Accordant Energy accuses Vexor of infringing two patents relating to engineered feedstocks.

The patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 9,062,268 and 9,523,051, each entitled “Engineered fuel feed stock” and directed to feed stocks for use as gasification and combustion fuels and methods of making the feed stocks.  Components derived from processed MSW waste streams are used to make the feed stocks, which are substantially free of glass, metals, grit and noncombustibles.

Filed February 28, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the complaint names Vexor Engineered Fuel as the accused product.

Energy-Efficient Exercise Equipment

Green Fitness Equipment Co. v. Precor Inc.

It’s not every day you see patent litigation involving green exercising technology, but this one is about exactly that.

In a complaint filed February 8, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Southern Distric of California, Green Fitness alleges that Precor has incorporated its patented invention into its EFC Elliptical Cross-trainer products that include Active Status Light technology.

The patent-in-suit is U.S. Patent No. 8,884,553, entitled “Current monitor for indicating a condition of attached electrical apparatus” (‘553 Patent).

The ‘553 Patent is directed to a current monitor that indicates a condition of attached electrical equipment.  The current monitor can determine a predetermined range in which current being withdrawn by the attached electrical apparatus lies.  Based on the determined range, corresponding display electronic elements, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), can be activated.

The commercial embodiment of Green Fitness’s patented invention is its Treadmill Saver product.

LEDs

Metrospec Technology LLC v. Hubbell Lighting, Inc.

This lawsuit was filed February 3, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.  The complaint asserts three patents relating to high intensity flexible light circuits.

The patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 8,143,631, 8,525,193 and 9,341,355, each entitled “Layered structure for use with high power light emitting diode systems.”

The asserted patents are directed to a layered structure comprising an electrically insulating intermediate layer interconnecting a top layer and a bottom layer.  The top layer, the intermediate layer, and the bottom layer form an at least semi-flexible elongate member which is bendable laterally to a radius of at least 6 inches, twistable relative to its longitudinal axis up to 10 degrees per inch, and bendable to conform to localized heat sink surface flatness variations having a radius of at least 1 inch.

Metrospec alleges that the NorFlex product offered by Hubbell’s Thomas Research Products division infringes the patents.

Unity Opto Technology Co. v. Cree, Inc.

Unity Opto Technology Co. v. Cree, Inc.

Unity Opto Technology (UOT) sued Cree twice in January, seeking a declaratory judgement that Cree’s U.S. Patent Nos. 8,596,819 (‘819 Patent), 8,628,214 (‘214) Patent),  8,998,444 (‘444 Patent) and 9,052,067 (‘067 Patent) are invalid and that UOT does not infringe the ‘067 Patent.

The ‘819 and ‘214 Patents are entitled “Lighting device and method of lighting” and directed to a lighting device which emits light with an efficacy of at least 60 lumens per watt, and up to at least 300 lumens in some embodiments, where the output light has a CRI Ra of at least 90.  The lighting device comprises at least one solid state light emitter, e.g., one or more light emitting diodes, and optionally further includes one or more lumiphor.

The ‘444 Patent is entitled “Solid state lighting devices including light mixtures” and directed to a solid state lighting apparatus including at least a first LED and a second LED.  The first LED emits light in the blue portion of the visible spectrum and red light in response to the blue light. The second LED emits light having a color point that is above the planckian locus of a 1931 CIE Chromaticity diagram, and in particular may have a yellow green, greenish yellow or green hue.

Entitled “LED lamp with high color rendering index,” the ‘067 Patent is directed to an LED lamp that can emit light with a color rendering index (CRI) of at least 90 without remote wavelength conversion.

The first complaint was filed January 3, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.  The second complaint was filed January 6, 2017 in the same court.

Solar Mounting Systems

Rillito River Solar, LLC v. Bamboo Industries LLC

In a lawsuit filed January 26, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, Rillito sued Bamboo Industries LLC dba SolarHooks for alleged infringement of three patents relating to solar mounting systems.

The complaint lists SolarHooks’ Composition Flashing Kit as the accused product.

The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Nos. 8,153,700 (‘700 Patent), 9,134,044 (‘044 Patent) and 9,447,988 (‘988 Patent).

Entitled “Roofing system and method,” the ‘700 Patent is directed to a roof mounting system which includes a roof substrate and flashing supportable on the substrate and an outwardly extending projection having a concave interior side and an aperture extending through the projection between top and bottom surfaces of the flashing. A seal is provided that is conformable with the concave interior side and can define a seal aperture substantially aligned with the flashing aperture.

The ‘044 and ‘988 Patents are entitled “Roof mount assembly” and directed to a mount assembly which includes a flashing including an aperture, a bracket including a first portion and a second portion, the first portion having an opening and a countersink extending around the opening, the second portion extending at an angle away from the flashing, the second portion including a slot configured to be coupled to the structure, a fastener, and a seal extending around the aperture and positioned between the flashing and the first portion of the bracket, the seal engaging the countersink of the bracket and being compressed against the flashing.

LED technology continues to dominate green patent litigation, with at least 18 new lawsuits filed in November and December of 2016.  Solar mounting systems and waste management each saw one new lawsuit during this period.

LEDs

OptoLum, Inc. v. Cree, Inc.

Filed November 3, 2016 in federal court in Phoenix, Arizona, OptoLum’s complaint asserts three patents against Cree.

The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Nos. 6,573,536, 6,831,303 and 7,242,028, each entitled “Light emitting diode light source.”  They relate to early (their priority date is May 2002) LED technology designed to provide sufficient light output to be used as a general lighting source rather than a signaling source.

The patents are directed to LEDs that emit white light.  The diodes are mounted on an elongate member which is thermally conductive and is utilized to cool the diodes.

The accused products are Cree LED bulbs from 2013 and 2014 that are replacements for 60W and 100W incandescents.

Analog Integrations Corporation v. MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation

In this lawsuit, Analog Integrations sued MagnaChip for alleged infringement of U.S. Patent No. 8,339,049, entitled “LED driving circuit having a large operational range in voltage” (‘049 Patent).

The ‘049 Patent is directed to an LED driving circuit including a current selecting circuit that controls the current transmission path in a plurality of LEDs according to respective threshold voltages of corresponding LEDs and a plurality of current limits.

Filed November 6, 2016 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the complaint accuses MagnaChip’s driving circuit Product Model No. MAP9000 of infringing the ‘049 Patent.

The Regents of the University of California v. Zlight Technology LLC

The University of California has sued Zlight Technology in a case involving transparent LED technology to enable LED filament-style light bulbs.

UC alleges infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,781,789, entitled “Transparent mirrorless light emitting diode” (‘789 Patent).

The ‘789 Patent is directed to an (Al, Ga, In)N LED in which multi-directional light can be extracted from one or more surfaces of the LED before entering a shaped optical element and subsequently being extracted to air.  The optical element is molded into a sphere or inverted cone shape, wherein most of the light entering the inverted cone shape lies within a critical angle and is extracted.

The invention also minimizes internal reflections within the LED by eliminating mirrors and/or mirrored surfaces, in order to minimize re-absorption of the LED’s light by the emitting layer (or the active layer) of the LED.

Filed November 7, 2016 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the complaint lists a host of Zlight LED filament products alleged to infringe the ‘789 Patent.

Cree, Inc. v. E. Mishan & Sons, Inc.

Cree, Inc. v. Maxbrite LED Lighting Technology, LLC

Cree has asserted five utility patents and one design patent against E. Mishan & Sons in a lawsuit filed November 11, 2016 in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The patents-in-suit are:

U.S. Patent No. 7,808,013, entitled “Integrated heat spreaders for light emitting devices (LEDs)

U.S. Patent No. 7,858,998, entitled “Semiconductor light emitting devices including flexible silicone film having a lens therein

U.S. Patent No. 8,167,463, entitled “Power surface mount light emitting die package”

U.S. Patent No. 8,622,582, entitled “Power surface mount light emitting die package”

U.S. Patent No. 9,070,850, entitled “Light emitting diode package and method for fabricating same”

U.S. Patent No. D615,504, entitled “Emitter package”

The accused products include flashlights such as the TACLIGHT tactical flashlight product.

The lawsuit against Maxbrite was filed November 18, 2016 in federal court in Oakland, California for both patent and trademark infringement.  For some reason, I haven’t been able to track down the complaint, but it appears to be, at least in part, a counterfeiting case (see LED Inside article here).

Tseng v. BBC International LLC et al.

On December 25, 2016, Shen Ko Tseng, an individual, filed this complaint in federal court in San Francisco against BBC International, Concept Technology, and Terry Electronics alleging infringement of an LED circuit patent.

The asserted patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 7,452,106, and 7,405,674, each entitled “Circuit device for controlling a plurality of light-emitting devices in a sequence” and directed to a circuit device for controlling light-emitting devices disposed in a sequence including a motion activated switch.  The controller is capable of driving the light-emitting diodes lighting up on the basis of a first predefined sequence and a consequent second predefined sequence when triggered by a motion-actuated switch.

The accused products are Batman, Thomas, Peanuts, and Spiderman branded LED illuminated shoes.

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Feit Electrical Company, Inc.

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Hyperikon, Inc.

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Sunco Lighting, Inc.

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Letianlighting, Inc.

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Halco Lighting Technologies, LLC

Blackbird Tech LLC v. CleanLife Energy LLC

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Evergreen LED, LLC

Blackbird Tech initiated several new lawsuits in the last two months of the year.  The first, against Letianlighting, was filed November 9, 2016 in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

The complaint asserts U.S. Patent No. 7,086,747, entitled “Low-voltage apparatus for satisfying after-hours light requirements, emergency light requirements, and low light requirements” (‘747 Patent).

The ‘747 Patent is directed to an energy efficient lighting apparatus wherein the circuit board is positioned adjacent the ballast cover so that the plurality of light-emitting diodes protrude through the plurality of ballast cover holes in the ballast cover, the lighting apparatus is coupled to a wall switch, and the illumination of the light-emitting diodes is controllable based upon the position of the wall switch.

The other seven complaints were filed December 8 and December 28, 2016, also in Delaware.  The patent in those suits is U.S. Patent No. 7,114,834 (‘834 Patent).  Entitled “LED lighting apparatus,” the ‘834 Patent is directed to a light comprising a housing, a plurality of LED lights coupled in an array inside of the housing, and a reflective protrusion for reflecting light from the LED lights out of the housing.

The LED array receives a consistent flow of DC current that will not result in the LED lights burning out. To prevent the LED array from burning out there is also a current regulator for controlling a current flowing through this LED array.

The accused product in the Feit complaint (Blackbird Tech LLC v. Feit Electrical Company, Inc.) is the 60 Watt Equivalent Dimmable G25 Bulb; the Home Depot complaint (Blackbird Tech LLC v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.) lists the Ecosmart 60W LED Replacement bulbs and the Hampton Bay LED Low Voltage 20W Equivalent Spotlight; the accused product in the Hyperikon complaint (Blackbird Tech LLC v. Hyperikon, Inc.) is the Daylight Glow Par 16 bulb, and the Sunco complaint (Blackbird Tech LLC v. Sunco Lighting, Inc.) lists the 6 Watt Pure Efficiency Spot Light.

The accused products listed in the Evergreen complaint (Blackbird Tech v. Evergreen) are the Yigeda Solid State Lighting Chandelier bulbs.  The Cleanlife Energy complaint (Blackbird Tech v. Cleanlife Energy) lists the CleanLife 7W LED MR16 Spot Light, and the Halco complaint (Blackbird Tech v. Halco Lighting Technologies) lists the Halco Solid State Lighting Chandelier bulbs.

Lighting Science Group Corporation v. Halco Lighting Technologies

Halco was also sued by LSG for allegedly infringing three patents whose commercial embodiment is LSG’s GLIMPSE lighting family of products.

The lawsuit asserts the following three patents: U.S. Patent No. 8,201,968 (‘968 Patent), U.S. Patent No. 8,967,844 (‘844 Patent), and U.S. Patent No. 8,672,518 (‘518 Patent).

Entitled “Low profile light,” the ’968 Patent is directed to a luminaire including a heat spreader and a heat sink disposed outboard of the heat spreader, an outer optic securely retained relative to the heat spreader and/or the heat sink, and an LED light source.  The ‘518 Patent and the’ 844 Patent are entitled “Low profile light and accessory kit for the same” and relate to LSG’s disc light LED devices.

The complaint was filed in federal court in Orlando, Florida on December 21, 2016.

Nichia Corporation v. Feit Electric Company, Inc.

Nichia Corporation v. Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC et al.

Nichia Corporation v. TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited et al.

Nichia Corporation v. Vizio, Inc.

Nichia filed four lawsuits in federal court in Marshall, Texas on December 27, 2016, each asserting U.S. Patent No. 9,490,411 (‘411 Patent) (Nichia Corporation v. Feit Electric Company, Inc.; Nichia Corporation v. Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC et al.; Nichia Corporation v. TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited et al.; Nichia Corporation v. Vizio, Inc.).

The ‘411 Patent is entitled “Light emitting device, resin package, resin-molded body, and methods for manufacturing light emitting device, resin package and resin-molded body” and directed to an LED manufacturing method in which a resin part and a lead are formed in a substantially same plane in an outer side surface, including sandwiching a lead frame provided with a notch part, transfer-molding a thermosetting resin containing a light reflecting material in a mold to form a resin-molded body in the lead frame, and cutting the resin-molded body and the lead frame along the notch part.

The accused Feit products include the Feit Electric 800 Lumen 3000K Dimmable LED, the LED Shop Light, the Dimmable Warm White LED Bulb, and the 40 W Equivalent Soft White Smart LED Bulb.

The accused Lowe’s products include the Utilitech 75 W Equivalent Par38 Warm White LED Flood Light Bulb, the 65 W Equivalent Dimmable Daylight LED Flood Light Bulb, and the 65 W Eqivalent Dimmable Soft White LED Flood Light Bulb.

The accused TCL and Vizio products are certain LED televisions.

Solar Mounting Systems

Rillito River Solar, LLC v. IronRidge Inc.

Rillito River Solar (dba EcoFastenSolar) sued IronRidge December 1, 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

The complaint alleges that IronRidge’s FlashFoot2 roof mounting system infringes U.S. Patent No. 6,526,701 (‘701 Patent).

Entitled “Roof mount,” the ‘701 Patent is directed to a roof mount including a base member, an attachment mount, and a spacer extending the base member to a roof surface. The base member has a protrusion, and the attachment mount defines a hollowed region for receiving the protrusion to form a compression fitting.  A substantially leak proof assembly is formed when the attachment mount is placed against the base member with a sealing material therebetween.

Waste Management

Pannell Manufacturing Corp. v. Smoker et al.

Pannell sued two individuals, Phillips Mushroom Farms, and E&H Conveyors for alleged infringement of three patents relating to mushroom composting.

The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Nos. 8,069,608, 8,205,379 and 8,561,344.  They are entitled “Mushroom compost compacting system and method” and are directed to systems and methods for compacting mushroom compost using a roller assembly mounted to a compost receptacle to form a nip, along with a web or conveyor to convey mushroom compost to and through the nip.  Mushroom compost is compacted to a particular height that can be adjusted by the user by adjusting the space between the roller and compost receptacle.

The complaint was filed December 2, 2016 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Envision Solar (Envision) is a San Diego-based company that makes solar parking structures that can be used to charge electric vehicles, support outdoor digital advertising, and enhance energy security.  What makes Envision’s products unique is that unlike most parking lot solar-powered vehicle charging stations, most of the company’s systems have the ability to track the movement of the sun.

According to Envision’s President and CEO Desmond Wheatley, 90% of Envision’s deployments have tracking capability.  Why tracking?  He echoed my thoughts exactly:  because it’s “cool.”

Also, parking lots are “hyper-restrained” in geography so a solar charger needs to maximize energy density in a very small space.  Incorporating tracking helps in that regard.

Envision’s two major product offerings are the Solar Tree® and the EV ARCâ„¢.  The company owns at least seven U.S. patents and pending applications covering various aspects of the technology in these products.

U.S. Patent No. 7,705,277 (‘277 Patent), issued in 2010, covers Envision’s original design.  Entitled “Sun tracking solar panels,” the ‘277 Patent is directed to a system for maximizing solar energy utilization by moving a solar panel to track movement of the sun from sunrise to sunset.  Movements of the solar panel are accomplished daily in accordance with a programmed schedule of consecutive cycles.

A subsequent patent issued in early 2014 is directed to a refined design better suited for solar tracking in a parking lot.  The system covered by U.S. Patent No. 8,648,551 (‘551 Patent) is significant, Wheatley said, because instead of the tracker causing the solar panel to swing in to the drive aisle, it instead bows.

According to the ‘551 Patent, the rotation of a cylindrical knuckle in the tracking system “allow[s] the solar panel to continuously reorient while maintaining a substantially stationary footprint.”

Wheatley told me the company’s most important intellectual property is that around the features of the EV ARCâ„¢.

Wheatley mentioned several advantageous features of the EV Arc.  First and foremost is its autonomy, i.e., it is not connected to the utility grid.  Some of the structural features are also important, including the ability for the thin base plate to support heavy vehicles and the high-traction material of the base plate, which allows it to remain stationary.

U.S. Patent No. 9,209,648, issued in November 2015, is entitled “Self-contained renewable battery charger” and is directed to a charging system (10) comprising a portable unit (12) that includes a moveable docking pad (16) having a base (18) and compartment (20) for holding a storage battery (18).

The portable unit (12) includes a column (24) having a first end (26) mounted onto the docking pad (16) and a second end (28).  A solar array (30) is affixed to the second end (28) of the column (24).  The unit has a structural canopy with a beam (32) and cross members (34) attached to the column (24) to support the photovoltaic modules of the solar array (30).

The company also has IP around the mobility and installation of its systems, including a specialized trailer and hydraulic ram, ARCâ„¢ Mobility, for transportation and deployment purposes.

Wheatley and Envision are very aware of the importance of patent protection in the U.S. and beyond.  The company’s patents, he said, “prevent smaller competitors from copying” their technology.  They also might stop larger customers from buying pirated products.  In general, a strong IP portfolio increases the company’s value in the investor community.

With investments of about $200 billion on EV charging, the company sees China as an important market and has filed patent applications there.  Wheatley told me that Chinese patents allow Envision to bring powerful partners aboard in China to protect the company’s business ventures there.

Envision Solar continues to innovate and isn’t stopping at car charging; they’re working on EV ARCâ„¢ eBike and eMotorcycle charging as well.  Many more patent applications will certainly follow.