TransData Wins Key Ruling in Wireless Smart Electric Meter Patent Lawsuits
TransData, Inc. today announced that an Oklahoma federal judge has issued a significant ruling favorable to TransData in its ongoing patent infringement litigation against a group of the nation's largest electric utilities over wireless smart electric meter technology developed by the Company. The Order, issued October 1, 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, construes the disputed claim terms of TransData's U.S. Patent Nos. 6,181,294; 6,462,713; and 6,903,699 in a manner consistent with the constructions offered by TransData. In particular, the Court rejected all of the defendants' proposed constructions and also rejected defendants' argument that TransData's Patents were invalid as indefinite under 35 U.S.C. 112.
This result underscores TransData's view that the defendants' infringe these patents. "We are extremely pleased with the Court's claim constructions and the timeliness of the Markman Order," said Trace Gleibs, President of TransData. "The Court's Markman Order is a significant step in this litigation and further validates TransData's intellectual property rights." Attorneys Phillip Philbin, Jamie McDole, and Hamilton Simpson of Dallas-based Haynes & Boone, LLP represented TransData at the claim construction hearing.
In the litigation, TransData has asserted its Patents against CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric LLC; Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC; Texas-New Mexico Power Company; Denton Municipal Utilities; San Diego Gas & Electric Co.; Denton County Electric Cooperative Inc.; Alabama Power Company, Georgia Power Company, and Mississippi Power Company, subsidiaries of Southern Company; Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co.; Tri-County Electric Coop Inc.; and Wisconsin Power & Light Co. In particular, TransData alleges that defendants are making, using, offering to sell, selling, and/or importing certain digital electric meters equipped with an internal wireless communication circuit and antenna that infringe TransData's Patents.
