Clean Tech in Court: Green Patent Complaint Update
Several new green patent complaints were filed in May and June in the areas of advanced batteries, electroluminescence lighting technology, green cleaning solvents, and LEDs.
Advanced Batteries
Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. et al. v. Chervon (HK) Ltd.
In this lawsuit Milwaukee Electric asserted infringement of three patents relating to lithium-ion battery powered cordless power tools.
The patents-in-suit are:
U.S. Patent No. 7,554,290, entitled “Lithium-based battery pack for a hand-held power tool”
U.S. Patent No. 7,944,173, entitled “Lithium-based battery pack for a high current draw, hand held power tool”
U.S. Patent No. 7,999,510, entitled “Lithium-based battery pack for a high current draw, hand held power tool”
The complaint was filed May 5, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The accused products are Chervon’s Kobalt, Masterforce, Performax, and Craftsman branded tools.
Electroluminescence Lighting Technology
Shenzhen EL Lighting Technology Co. v. Midwest Trading Group, Inc.
Filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on May 5, 2017, Shenzhen’s complaint accuses Midwest Trading Group of infringing U.S. Patent No. 6,960,725 (‘725 Patent).
The ‘725 Patent is entitled “Electroluminescence (EL) tube and wire and manufacturing method” and directed to an electroluminescent wire core having a flexible central electrode, a luminescent layer and a transparent, conductive layer. An outer surface of the central electrode is coated with the luminescent layer and the transparent, conductive layer, and the luminescent power is covered by thermoplastic macromolecular polymer and synthetic resin.
The accused products are the PowerXcel LIGHT-UP cables.
Green Cleaning Solvents
GreenEarth Cleaning, LLC v. Cameron Park Fresh Cleaners, Inc.
GreenEarth Cleaning, LLC v. Walrus Cleaners, Inc.
These actions for patent infringement, trademark infringement, and breach of contract were filed June 23 and June 26, 2017, respectively, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Although the complaints (GreenEarth Cleaning, L.L.C. v. Cameron Park Fresh Cleaners, Inc.; GreenEarth Cleaning, L.L.C. v. Walrus Cleaners, Inc.)list 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 both defendants breached their respective license agreements with GreenEarth.
LEDs
Lighting Science Group Corporation v. Leedarson Lighting Co. et al.
Lighting Science Group sued Leedarson May 9, 2017 in federal court in Orlando for infringement of 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 alleges that defendant’s downlight luminaires, including the DL-N19A9ER1-27 and DL-N19A11FR1-27 families of products, infringe the asserted patents.
Nitride Semiconductors Co. v. Rayvio Corporation
In this lawsuit involving UV LED technology, Nitride accuses Rayvio of infringing U.S. Patent No. 6,861,270, entitled “Method for manufacturing gallium nitride compound semiconductor and light emitting element” (‘270 Patent).
The ‘270 Patent is directed to a method for manufacturing a GaN compound semiconductor which can improve light emitting efficiency even when dislocations are present. An n type AlGaN layer, a undoped AlGaN layer, and a p type AlGaN layer are laminated on a substrate to obtain a double hetero structure. When the undoped AlGaN layer is formed, droplets of Ga or Al are formed on the n type AlGaN layer.
The compositional ratio of Ga and Al in the undoped AlGaN layer varies due to the presence of the droplets, creating a spatial fluctuation in the band gap. Because of the spatial fluctuation in the band gap, the percentage of luminous recombinations of electrons and holes is increased.
The complaint was filed May 23, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The accused products include Rayvio’s SB4 LED.
Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Cree, Inc.
Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Everlight Electronics Co. et al.
Document Security Systems (DSS) filed two lawsuits June 8, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California asserting several LED patents.
The complaint against Cree (Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Cree, Inc.) lists as accused products, e.g., some of Cree’s XLamp ML products, CLM Series products, CLP Series products, and XLamp XB-D Family LED products.
The complaint against Everlight (Document Security Systems, Inc. v. Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. et al) lists the PLCC Top View SMD LED, the 2214 package series, the 3020 package series, and several other products.
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”
Everlight Electronics Co. v. Bridgelux, Inc.
On the enforcement side, Everlight sued Bridgelux for patent infringement June 10, 2017 in federal court in San Francisco.
U.S. Patent Nos. 6,335,548 and 7,253,448 entitled “Semiconductor radiation emitter package” and directed to a semiconductor optical radiation package including a leadframe, a semiconductor optical radiation emitter, and an encapsulant. The leadframe has a heat extraction member, which supports the semiconductor optical emitter and provides one or more thermal paths for removing heat. The encapsulant covers and protects the emitter and optional wire bonds from damage and allows radiation to be emitted.
The complaint alleges that Bridgelux’s 2835 LED products infringe the patents.
Nanolumens Acquisition Inc. et al. v. Gable Signs & Graphics, Inc.
Nanolumens Acquisition Inc. et al. v. InfiLED USA, LLC
Nanolumens Acquisition Inc. et al. v. PixelFlex LLC
Nanolumens filed at least three infringement suits in June, each asserting three flexible LED display patents.
The patents are U.S. Patent No. 8,963,895, entitled “Ubiquitously mountable image display system,” relating to a ubiquitously mountable image display systems; U.S. Patent No. 9,159,707, entitled “Flexible display,” relating to a flexible display. U.S. Patent No. 9,640,516, entitled Flexible display apparatus and method”,” relating to a flexible display apparatus and methods.
The complaint against Gable was filed June 9, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland; the complaint against InfiLED was filed June 9, 2017 in federal court in Atlanta; the complaint against Pixelflex was filed June 12, 2009 in federal court in Nashville.
This article was originally published on Eric's Green Patent Blog.