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A Dramatic Finale: Judge Orders Lutron to Pay GeigTech *Double Damages,* Interest & Costs

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GeigTech, maker of J Geiger shades, and Lutron lawsuit ends
[Click to enlarge]

In what has been one of the longest-running patent infringement cases I have ever reported on, GeigTech East Bay LLC vs. Lutron Electronics Co. Inc. finally wrapped up last week in the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York before the Honorable Judge Colleen McMahon who delivered a blistering Final Decision and Order full of fire and brimstone…for both parties. Know that as you read this report, you are reading about a case originally filed on June 12, 2018…that’s right, seven years ago!

Says Judge McMahon: “After two trials and many opinions over the past seven years, the Court assumed familiarity with the facts and major players involved in this case.” And you know what they say about familiarity – familiarity breeds contempt!

See the many surprising facts Judge McMahon’s Decision and Order reveals

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J Geiger Shade Maker’s Gamble on New Trial with Lutron Cost It $1.2 Million

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Photo from lawsuit showing the Lutron bracket (R) looks identical to the J Geiger bracket made by GeigTech (L)
Patented GeigTech (J Geiger) bracket on the left, Lutron copy on the right [Click to enlarge]

Last week, a jury was convened for a special trial to determine reasonable damages in the matter of GeigTech East Bay LLC v. Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. GeigTech, the plaintiff in this case is the manufacturer of motorized shade products marketed under the J Geiger brand, an independent company owned by Savant (and which is not a party to this litigation). Lutron has already been found to have infringed on certain patents held by Geigtech and the original jury’s large damages award was set aside by the judge who found it to be excessive. This new trial was held to determine a more reasonable damages amount.

See the painful result for Geigtech in this new trial

[Read more…] about J Geiger Shade Maker’s Gamble on New Trial with Lutron Cost It $1.2 Million

Revised Politan Proxy Material Offers a Surprising Masimo Tidbit

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Chancery Court Declines to Force an Earlier Stockholders Meeting

New proxy material produced and distributed to stockholders this week by Politan Capital Management – an activist investor in Masimo Corp (Nasdaq: MASI) – mostly contains information that was already known. The activist investor, as well as Masimo itself, must provide new proxy materials and voting forms as all previous votes were invalidated as a result of a rescheduling of the 2024 Annual Stockholders Meeting to September 19th (originally was to be July 25th).

But Politan included a few pages of updated background information which, among those items I’ve already written about, did include one fascinating or tantalizing bit of new information.

See more on the updated Politan proxy & its new Masimo tidbit

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Lutron Loses Appeal in J Geiger Lawsuit But Gets Penalty Reduction

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The judge hearing Lutron Electronics’ appeal of its loss to GeigTech East Bay (part of J. Geiger shades) in a patent infringement case has delivered her decision and it is sure to please neither side. Earlier this year a jury declared Lutron a willful infringer of a GeigTech patent and awarded it an eye-popping $34.6 million. Lutron appealed asking for a new trial, which was denied, but the Judge cut the award to $3.8 million, agreeing that it was “grossly excessive.”

So what happens now? Read on to see…

See more on this ruling of Lutron’s appeal of Geigtech’s trial win

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DTC Brands OSD Audio and Outlaw Audio Settle All Litigation; OSD Sues Homni

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OSD Audio website

Santos Electronics Inc., dba OSD Audio, and Outlaw Audio LLC – both direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands – have settled all claims between them in their dueling lawsuits that began back in 2022, according to court filings from earlier this year. In that order from the court, I learned that the entire action was dismissed “with prejudice” – meaning it cannot ever be revised or otherwise litigated again (on these issues).

See more on the end of OSD Audio v. Outlaw Audio, and vice versa

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In Masimo v. Apple $3B Trade Secrets Trial, Witnesses Offer Divergent Testimony

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Apple Watch sensor
Apple’s sensor for, among other things, blood oxygen levels

The Masimo Corporation $3 billion trade secret misappropriation, patent infringement, and patent ownership trial against Apple, Inc. is continuing and witnesses are offering the jury sharply divergent views of the many elements of this case. While those opposing viewpoints are fairly clear, what is not clear is how the jury is interpreting all of this information, and which side they feel is presenting a true picture of the situation.

See more on what we know in Masimo vs. Apple

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Court Orders OSD Audio to Cease ‘Literally False’ Advertising Claim

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OSD Audio Nero XA5180 amplifier
OSD Nero XA5180 multichannel amplifier

In a decision announced last week, U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna has granted a motion for reconsideration by Outlaw Audio that included a restraining order preventing OSD Audio “from falsely representing” a certain feature of one of its products. This decision is a result of legal action taking place between direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands Santos Elecs. Inc. dba OSD Audio and Outlaw Audio LLC.

Learn more about this action between OSD Audio and Outlaw Audio

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Sonos Scores Another Patent Win, Legrand Signs Multi-Year Licensing Deal

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Sonos logo from the past

In yet another sign of patent success for Sonos, major industry player Legrand has agreed to a multi-year licensing deal to cover the technology used in their Nuvo line of wireless multi-room products. This is yet another sign that tends to add to the growing power of the Sonos patent portfolio covering these technologies.

See more on this announcement of a deal with Legrand…

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Sonos & Google Patent War Gets Ugly, Each Accuses the Other of Bad Faith

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Photo of lawyers arm wrestling

A hearing before a California federal judge brought an ugly exchange between attorneys for both Sonos and Google – with each side pointing their finger at the other and accusing them of bad faith. That attorneys got ugly against their counterparts is not in itself surprising. However, the speed with which this dispute devolved to that point was a surprise.

Learn more about this escalating battle between Sonos & Google…

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Sonos & Google Patent War Intensifies as Each Fires New Salvos This Week

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tanks are aligned for battle between these two giants

It must be really interesting in those Sonos and Google joint product development meetings, where the parties meet to discuss their partnership on the Google assistant technology built into Sonos products. You see, in addition to this product partnership, both companies are ensnarled in a nasty round of lawsuits accusing each other of various patent violations – with tactics and rhetoric heating up as each fired new salvos at the other just this week. On Monday, Google sued Sonos. On Tuesday, Sonos sued Google. This is getting serious…

See what’s happening now between Sonos and Google

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