Ecube Labs files patent infringement suit against Bigbelly

Ecube's filed its patent infringement against Bigbelly (system pictured above) several months after Bigbelly filed patent infringement complaints against ECube and EconX.

Seoul, South Korea-based Ecube Labs Co. Ltd., a smart solar-powered waste and recycling station provider specializing in data-driven smart waste management and recycling solutions, has announced that it has filed a suit against Bigbelly Inc. for patent infringement in connection with an ongoing lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Ecube alleges in the suit that Bigbelly infringes Ecube’s U.S. patent No. 9,821,955, which covers Ecube’s system of smart waste management. Ecube’s patented technology enables its licensed partners to operate a smart waste and recycling management system using smart solar-powered compactors. 

In August 2017, Needham, Massachusetts-based Bigbelly Inc., a manufacturer of waste and recycling systems that feature compacting stations with sensors that offer real-time reporting via its software, filed patent infringement complaints against ECube and EconX. The company had filed a complaint with the U.S. Central District Court in California and the German Court alleging Ecube Labs Co. Ltd. (South Korea), Ecube Labs Co. (U.S.) and EconX Waste Solutions B.V. (Netherlands) infringe on two Bigbelly patents covering energy management technologies for solar powered compactors.

The company said at the time that it requested that the U.S. and German courts issue rulings confirming that certain Ecube and EconX products infringe Bigbelly’s U.S. and European patents.

“Ecube Labs is proud of the technology we have developed. We have leveraged deployments in smart city initiatives around the globe to develop the world’s leading smart waste management system,” says Sean Gwon, CEO of Ecube Labs, in a news release announcing the suit. “The patent we are asserting in this case represents the important technologies in our IP portfolio, which are vital to the autonomous and intelligent functions of a smart solar-powered compactor. We filed this suit to stop Bigbelly’s unauthorized use of our patented technologies.”

Ecube’s November 2017 statement mirrors that of Bigbelly’s in August 2017 when Brian Phillips, CEO of Bigbelly, said, “Bigbelly is proud of the technology we have developed. We have leveraged critical customer installations in regions around the globe to enable us to develop the world’s leading smart waste and recycling system. The patents we are asserting represent important technologies in our IP portfolio and are vital to the basic function of a solar powered compactor.  They enable Bigbelly to operate with or without direct sunlight and in any location. These lawsuits seek to stop infringement of our patented technologies.”