Calif. Suit Alleges LG's Smart Thermostats Infringe 3 Patents

LG's ThinQ smart thermostats and HVAC systems infringe three EcoFactor patents (8,019,567, 8,740,100 and 10,534,382) on energy efficiency control technologies, the oldest of the three dating to September 2011, alleged the supplier of smart home energy management services in a complaint Friday in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California. EcoFactor “transformed how homes use energy by applying advanced analytics to connected devices in the home,” said the complaint. “The patented innovations at issue in this action were invented by EcoFactor engineers and researchers.” The company has spent “tens of millions of dollars” on R&D and “technical services and support,” but in recent years, “an explosion of imported products” that infringe EcoFactor’s patents “has significantly eroded EcoFactor’s market standing in the United States,” it said. The suit seeks damages, plus a permanent injunction prohibiting LG “from further acts of infringement,” it said. LG didn’t comment.