Vestas, GE resolve multi-patent infringement conflicts

US conglomerate General Electric Co (NYSE:GE) and Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) have settled all disputes related to multiple claims of patent infringement in the wind sector.

The companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday the move has put an end to their case in the US District Court for the Central District of California, as well as all other pending proceedings related to patents-in-suit for technologies that enable wind turbines to manage grid faults.

GE filed a patent complaint in California against its Danish rival in 2017. The filing states that Vestas has infringed its patent on zero voltage ride through (ZVRT) technology. The US conglomerate then claimed that the Vestas V90-3.0, V100-2.0, V112-3.0 and V117-3.3 wind turbine models installed across eight US states were in breach of the patent. The dispute was later expanded with a counterclaim by Vestas to cover four asserted patents, two from GE and two from Vestas, concerning technology for connecting wind turbines to the power grid and keeping the connection during periods of grid malfunctions.

The settlement includes a cross-licence to the patents-in-suit that permits both parties and their affiliates to use the technology covered by such patents in the onshore and offshore wind industries. A confidential payment from Vestas to GE was also part of the agreement, but no specific details about it were disclosed.

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