SunSpec Inter Partes Review Challenge To Tigo Patents
The Patent Office Has Instituted Review of Two Tigo Energy, Inc.’s Patents
San Jose, California, February 15, 2022. In July of 2021, SunSpec, supported by several member companies, challenged the validity two of Tigo Energy Inc.’s patents by filing inter partes review (IPR) petitions at the U.S. Patent Office. SunSpec’s IPR petitions challenged the validity certain claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 8,933,321 (the ‘321 patent) and 10,256,770 (the ‘770 patent), both of which Tigo had previously asserted against SunSpec member company APsystems. Tigo has alleged that these patents are relevant to the SunSpec Rapid Shutdown Specification. SunSpec is convinced that Tigo’s allegations are unfounded and incorrect, and so SunSpec decided to file its IPR petitions challenging Tigo’s ’321 and ‘770 patents to defend against Tigo’s aggressive threats and allegations.
SunSpec strongly disagrees with Tigo that any products practicing the Rapid Shutdown Specification infringe any valid Tigo patents, including the ‘321 and ‘770 patents. To support its position SunSpec has published a synopsis of prior art relevant to the Rapid Shutdown Specification and a corresponding whitepaper on the SunSpec website that demonstrate that each aspect of the Rapid Shutdown Specification was previously known in the prior art.
On January 28, 2022, the Patent Office agreed with SunSpec’s petitions and instituted proceedings to review and reconsider the patentability of Tigo’s ‘321 and ‘770 patents. In that January decision, the Patent Office specifically found that SunSpec’s IPR petitions established a reasonable likelihood of prevailing in SunSpec prevailing and showing that one or more claims of each of Tigo’s ‘321 and ‘770 patents is unpatentable. Although there is more work to do in connection with SunSpec’s challenge, this January 28 decision from the Patent Office is a significant development that validates SunSpec’s petitions. The parties will continue to dispute the patentability of the claims of Tigo’s ‘321 and ‘770 patents, and the dispute will culminate in a hearing in November 2022. SunSpec remains confident in its position in connection with the IPR petitions and these patents.
SunSpec Rapid Shutdown References