(42b) Bars, Experiments and Threats: Lessons for Engineers Who Deal with Inventions from Energy Heating, LLC v. Heat on-the-Fly, LLC

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision in Energy Heating, LLC v. Heat On-The-Fly, LLC on October 14, 2021. This is a patent case that illustrates the application of several key aspects of patent law concerning on-sale and public use statutory bars, experimental use, and the potential unintended consequences of casually issuing threats of patent litigation. The case offers cautionary lessons for engineers, managers and marketers whose duties include development and commercialization of patentable inventions. A set of best practices for avoiding the missteps illustrated in this case is provided.