Energy & Sustainability IP Updates — September 2022
In the News
Earlier this month, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), which promises to put nearly $370 million in federal funding behind the energy transition. The IRA is expected to stimulate private sector innovation and deployment in a range of clean technologies – from clean energy to efficient consumer appliances – through tax incentives, loans, and grants. See https://time.com/6207015/clean-climate-technology-inflation-reduction-act/.
In the Courts
The state of New Jersey urged U.S. District Judge William G. Young earlier this month not to block General Electric–made wind turbines that a jury found to infringe a Siemens patent, arguing that banning the products would "make it impossible" to complete a state-sponsored wind project. That motion requested that Judge Young grant the state leave to file an amicus brief in the litigation lodged against General Electric Co. by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S over patented wind turbine technology. The state explained in its amicus brief that granting Siemens’ July bid for a preliminary injunction on GE’s Haliade-X series of offshore wind turbines would significantly impede the state’s Ocean Wind project. Siemens sued GE in a Florida federal court in September 2020 for infringing two U.S. patents. The suit was transferred to the District of Massachusetts in February 2021. Following a 14-day trial, jurors determined that the disputed technology infringed three out of four asserted claims of U.S. Patent No. 9,279,413.
In U.S. Patent News
Montauk Renewables, Inc. – a renewable energy company specializing in the management, recovery, and conversion of biogas into renewable natural gas – announced it has filed a provisional patent application for a combustion based oxygen removal condensate neutralization technology. The application describes an acid neutralization technology that is a critical component in eliminating harmful acidic condensation produced when wastewater is removed from the biogas conversion process. See https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/07/28/2488312/0/en/Montauk-Renewables-Announces-Filing-of-Provisional-Patent-Application-for-New-Acid-Neutralization-Technology.html.
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