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20 June 2022Patents

GE infringed Siemens' wind turbine patent, jury finds

General Electric (GE) has infringed a wind turbine patent owned by  Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, according to a jury in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

In a verdict handed down on Friday 17 June, after a 14 day trial, the 10-member jury found that GE had infringed US patent number 9,279,413. But, in a win for GE, the jury also found that another GE patent, US patent number 8,575,776 was invalid.

On the ‘413 patent, the jury concluded that GE’s infringement was not wilful and Siemens Gamesa was not entitled to damages for lost profits. However, Siemens Gamesa should receive a reasonable royalty rate of $30,000 per megawatt, the jury said.

Siemens Gamesa sued GE back in September 2020, accusing GE of infringing the two patents.

The ‘776 patent discloses a wind turbine with an improved stator, which improves the operation of the wind turbine and simplifies the maintenance of the wind turbine.

The ‘413 patent is directed to a wind turbine, specifically to a novel structural support arrangement for the turbine that enables wind turbines to be larger and/or handle increased loads. This, in turn, allows the wind turbine to generate more energy.

“The accused GE wind turbines are, according to GE, the largest and most powerful offshore wind turbine in the world. Using Siemens Gamesa’s patented technology set forth in the ‘413 patent, the accused GE wind turbines rely on increased strength and stability of its structural components to support its massive size and handle stronger wind conditions,” said the suit.

Back in January, the  US International Trade Commission (ITC) gave a partial win to GE, after finding that Siemens Gamesa infringed US patent number 7,629,705.

The commission ordered an import ban on certain full-converter wind turbine components that run pre-2021 versions of software. However, in a  press release, Siemens Gamesa said that it no longer sells or imports this version of the components.

At the same time, the ITC rejected GE’s claims against Siemens Gamesa in regard to US patent number 7,629,705.

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