MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. is suing eight companies, including Snap-On Inc., for patent infringement.
Milwaukee filed its lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Oct. 16.
The other plaintiffs include Metco Battery Technologies LLC, AC (Macao Commercial Offshore) Limited and Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd.
The named defendants are: Rich Power Industries Inc., Hilti Inc., Chervon North America Inc., Sunrise Global Marketing LLC, Max USA Corp., Tooltechnic Systems LLC, Positec Tool Corp./Positec USA Inc. and Snap-On.
In its filing, Milwaukee claims the companies are infringing on three patents for its Lithium-based battery packs for hand-held power tools.
The patents-in-suit include U.S. Patent Nos. 7,554,290, issued in 2009; 7,944,173, issued in 2011; and 7,999,510, also issued in 2011.
Milwaukee, TTi Macao and TTi Hong Kong are the owners of the three patents; MBT has a license to certain exclusive rights under the patents.
According to Milwaukee’s complaint, it introduced the first Lithium, or Li-Ion, hand-held cordless power tool in January 2005.
It claims that before then, most battery-operated hand-held power tools were powered by Nickel-Cadmium, or NiCad, battery packs.
However, the NiCad battery packs couldn’t provide the same level of power as corded, line-voltage power tools. NiCad battery packs of sufficient power were too heavy for commercial use and sale, Milwaukee wrote in its suit.
But its V28 line of Li-Ion powered hand-held tools changed all of that, “revolutionizing” the cordless tool industry, Milwaukee claims.
In fact, soon after its introduction, Li-Ion became the de facto industry standard, Milwaukee claims.
The company, headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., is seeking damages, along with interest and costs, attorneys’ fees and costs, a permanent injunction and jury trial.
A spokeswoman for Milwaukee said she could not comment on the pending litigation, and the company’s general counsel could not immediately be reached.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at patents@legalnewsline.com.