Google Can’t Ax $20 Million Smart Thermostat Patent Verdict

EcoFactor Inc. successfully defended its $20 million Texas patent verdict over Google LLC‘s infringing Nest energy-efficient thermostat products Monday at the Federal Circuit.

A panel of US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit judges rebuffed Google’s arguments that EcoFactor’s US Patent No. 8,738,327 was invalid and wasn’t infringed. Judge Jimmie V. Reyna’s majority opinion in the 2-1 decision also dashed Google’s hopes of a retrial on damages, rejecting the tech giant’s assertion that EcoFactor’s expert witness David Kennedy arrived arbitrarily at a royalty rate applied to each sale of an infringing thermostat.

“Far from plucking the $X royalty ...