Garage Door Opener Patent Injunction Against Ryobi Tossed

Ryobi can continue to sell its WiFi-enabled garage door openers while a patent infringement case continues, an appeals court ruled Jan. 25 (Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co., 2017 BL 20658, Fed. Cir., 2016-2713, unpublished 1/25/17).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that Techtronic Industries Co., which makes Ryobi-branded products, has raised a substantial case for the invalidity of the patent underlying competitor Chamberlain Group Inc.’s smartphone-control technology.

The case was remanded to the district court, where CGI will have to overcome the challenge to that patent. Techtronic will also face charges ...