Honeywell Files Lawsuit Alleging Patent Infringement by Nest Labs
PRNewswire at The Wall Street Journal:
Honeywell (HON -0.81%) today filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Nest Labs, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. The lawsuit alleges infringement of seven Honeywell patents related to its thermostat technology.
Nest is one of the best designed and most innovative technology companies out there. Honeywell makes shit (and I don’t use that word lightly). The patent system in this situation is hindering progress by protecting Honeywell from outside competition while it sits idly by, refusing to innovate.
After calculating the total addressable market for thermostats, you realize that there is actually not much money to be made in thermostats. Nest isn’t attacking the thermostat industry; it’s attacking the status quo.