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Reuters

Google persuades US appeals court to overturn $20 mln Nest patent verdict

May 22 (Reuters) - Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab on Wednesday convinced a U.S. appeals court to overturn its $20 million trial loss to energy-management company EcoFactor in a patent lawsuit over Google's Nest smart thermostats. Following a rare full-court review, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said, opens new tab that Google was entitled to a new trial to determine how much it owed EcoFactor in damages. A three-judge Federal Circuit panel had upheld the award in a split decision last year. Spokespeople for EcoFactor did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the company was pleased with the decision and looked forward to presenting its case in district court. EcoFactor, based in Palo Alto, California, sells smart home energy-efficiency services. It sued Google for patent infringement in Waco, Texas, federal court in 2020, arguing that Nest thermostats use EcoFactor's patented method for automatically reducing energy usage during peak demand. A jury determined in 2022 that Google infringed one of the patents and awarded EcoFactor just over $20 million in damages. The Federal Circuit upheld the verdict in a 2-1 ruling last June, rejecting Google's argument that the proposed damages rate from EcoFactor's expert was "plucked out of nowhere." The full Federal Circuit overturned the panel's damages ruling on Wednesday. It said the Texas court "gave no rationale for ruling that the expert testimony was admissible" and that the expert's opinion was "not based upon sufficient facts or data." Google's argument drew support in court briefs from other tech giants including Apple, Tesla and Intel. The case is EcoFactor Inc v. Google LLC, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 23-1101. For EcoFactor: Reza Mirzaie of Russ August & Kabat For Google: Robert Van Nest of Keker Van Nest & Peters Read more: Google hit with $20 million verdict in Nest thermostat patent trial Google loses bid to overturn $20 million Nest patent verdict Google convinces US appeals court to reconsider Nest patent verdict