Federal Court of Canada rules in favour of Awesense and BC Hydro
Vancouver, BC – Awesense Wireless Inc. (Awesense) and BC Hydro have won a patent infringement lawsuit which was filed against them by Calgary-based dTechs epm ltd. (dTechs).
Awesense is a technology company that has been operating for over 10 years, whose hardware and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions help utilities and industrials virtualize, optimize and decarbonize their systems. Awesense entered into a series of agreements with British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) to provide portable electricity sensors and a cloud-based software application which BC Hydro used for detecting electricity theft.
In their suit, dTechs claimed that Awesense and BC Hydro infringed their patent – a multi-step method for detecting energy theft. The company also claimed that although Awesense does not use the steps in the patented method, Awesense is liable for inducing their customers to infringe on the patent.
In March of 2021, the Federal Court of Canada ruled that BC Hydro and Awesense, individually or together, did not infringe on the patent, and that the claims of the patent were invalid. Furthermore, the Court ruled in favour of Awesense against the additional allegations of liability because “there is no infringement of a patent in selling an article that does not in itself infringe the patent.”
“We’re pleased that the Federal Court of Canada has found the claims against Awesense and our client BC Hydro to be invalid,” said Mischa Steiner, CEO of Awesense. “We are looking forward to putting this matter behind us as we pursue our goals in helping our customers and partners accelerate towards a decarbonized energy future.”
For more information please visit www.awesense.com.
Contact:
Andrew Yagüe, Awesense
About Awesense:
Awesense is an award-winning organization, founded over a decade ago with a mission to help utilities and industrials virtualize, optimize and decarbonize their systems. Today, Awesense has developed a Digital Energy Platform to address these goals, and has an international team with customers across four continents. The Awesense solution, driven by its powerful Data Engine and Digital Energy Platform, accelerates the transition to a clean grid of the future. awesense.com
