CHICAGO, IL—Venable LLP is pleased to announce that on April 4, 2022, the firm’s client ecobee was the beneficiary of a ruling of Administrative Law Judge Cameron Elliot (of the U.S. International Trade Commission [ITC]) in an investigation brought by EcoFactor, Inc. against ecobee. ecobee is a leader in sustainable smart home solutions, and it pioneered the smart thermostat space in 2007.
The complaint, filed on Feb. 25, 2021, accused ecobee and others of importing Wi-Fi-enabled smart thermostats that infringed four patents. After an investigation that lasted 13 months, ALJ Elliot published an initial determination in favor of ecobee, finding that there was no violation of Section 337 of the Trade Act. In particular, ALJ Elliot concluded that ecobee did not infringe the asserted patents, that the asserted patents were invalid on multiple grounds, and that EcoFactor failed to satisfy the domestic industry requirement.
The Venable team representing ecobee and led by partner Timothy Carroll includes Manny Caixeiro, Megan Woodworth, Steve Lubezny, Catherine Taylor, Dan Apgar, Leslie Lee, and others.
