Several new green patent lawsuits were filed in the last couple of months in the areas of LEDs, smart grid technologies, concentrated solar power, solar inverters, green dry cleaning solvents, and water treatment. LEDs Cree, Inc. v. Harvatek Corporation et Read more…
One of the major green patent lawsuits I’ve been following in this space – GE Lighting v. Agilight – has settled. GE announced the settlement in a recent press release. The suit involved four GE LED patents, some relating to use Read more…
A recent article in the the New York Law Journal caught my attention for an interesting development in examination of eco-mark applications in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). We’ve known for some time that marks containing terms such Read more…
Indow Windows (Indow) is a Portland, Oregon, company that has developed energy efficient window inserts. Indow owns at least one U.S. Patent and a pending patent application covering its storm window technology. U.S. Patent No. 8,272,178 (’178 Patent) is entitled “Press-fit Read more…
In February, three individuals filed a proposed class action lawsuit against BP Solar and Home Depot accusing the solar panel maker and retailer of greenwashing in connection with certain solar panels (see the complaint here). Plaintiffs Michael Allagas, Arthur Ray, Read more…
There is some curious eco-mark news to report: apparently, last month General Motors filed two notable U.S. trademark applications, one for BOLT and the other for CHEVROLET BOLT. They are Application Nos. 86357513 and 86357523 (BOLT Applications), respectively, and list the goods Read more…
As with many things, July and August were slow months for green patent litigation. However, a handful of green patent complaints were filed in the last two months in the areas of solar power, green chemicals, smart meters, and, of Read more…
In March of 2009 Joel Joseph filed a U.S. trademark application for the mark BioMcDiesel for use in connection with marketing and selling biodiesel fuel. Needless to say, the owner of the ubiquitous global McBrand was not pleased. McDonald’s Corporation filed Read more…
It’s been quite a while since I’ve addressed green patents in the context of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other international efforts to develop climate change policy. A guest post by Prof. Matthew Rimmer discussed the Read more…
In previous posts (e.g., here and here), I’ve discussed cases of fraudulent renewable energy credits and other environmental crimes and argued they ought to be considered greenwashing. A recent indictment is another case in point. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced Read more…
In a prior post, I discussed the Tesla-Patent Commons. Further to that piece and the other media attention around Elon Musk’s announcement, there have been a couple of notable follow-on lists and analyses of the Tesla patents, which now belong Read more…
A number of green patent complaints have been filed in the last several months in the areas of energy management software, LEDs, smart meters, vertical axis wind turbines, and wastewater treatment. This post covers new lawsuits filed from the end of Read more…
Floating Island International (FII) is a Montana-based company that has developed technology for creating islands that can effectively support plant and animal life (full disclosure: FII is a client of my firm and FII CEO Bruce Kania agreed to be Read more…
A number of green patent complaints have been filed in the last several months in the areas of hybrid electric vehicles, ethanol production, LEDs, water treatment, and exhaust treatment catalysts. This post covers new lawsuits filed from late 2013 to Read more…