Offshore Turbines Pose Patent Risks as US Pushes Wind Power

A federal court decision that patent law reaches wind farms miles off the US coast will force more companies to grapple with infringement risks just as the government pushes to promote offshore wind development to produce electricity.

Wind turbines attached to the outer continental shelf are “within the United States” for the purposes of US patent law, Judge William Young in the District of Massachusetts recently ruled in a case Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S brought against General Electric Co. over offshore wind turbines. The outer continental shelf ordinarily extends 200 nautical miles from the shore, although it can extend ...