Experience

Clean Energy and Renewables

About

Clean Energy and Renewables is part of our work in Chemicals, Industrials, and Materials, and Energy.

Protecting innovation in a highly collaborative market

Innovative technologies that produce renewable, clean, efficient, and affordable energy are paramount in the quest to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Many clean energy and renewable innovations combine multiple technologies and scientific disciplines. Finnegan attorneys draw on diverse backgrounds and varied industry and legal experience to help protect, advocate, and leverage companies developing clean energy and renewable technologies.

Understanding the law, science, and technology

Finnegan’s technical experience spans electrical and computer technologies, chemistry and chemical engineering, materials science, biotechnology, industrial manufacturing, mechanical engineering, and nanotechnology. This background positions us to understand both the science at the foundation of our clients’ IP assets and the relevant legal issues. More than 65 of our professionals have Ph.D.’s, and more than 110 have master of science degrees. Our talent pool includes former in-house counsel, patent examiners, researchers, and engineers.

We help by:

Protecting against infringement through litigation, post-grant Patent Office challenges, and other dispute resolution options
Prosecuting patent applications
Counseling on research and development options that minimize patent obstacles
Preparing and negotiating licenses and other transactions to commercialize IP rights
Conducting due diligence investigations,
Developing portfolio management strategies,
Providing trademark prosecution and counseling services

We work with clean energy and renewables clients across a broad range of disciplines and technologies, including:

Clean and Renewable Energies

Biofuels
Biomass
Fuel cell stacks
Geothermal
Hydrogen generation
Photovoltaics
Tidal power
Wind turbines

Energy Efficiency Technologies

Biological water filtration
Next-generation lighting
Smart sensors
Solar thermal
Ultracapacitors

Materials, Manufacturing, and Agriculture

Advanced packaging
Bio-based materials
Emissions reduction and exhaust purification
Farm-efficiency technologies
Natural pesticides and fertilizers
Project-level carbon accounting, carbon trading, and carbon sequestration
Smart construction

Smart Grid Technologies

Energy management systems
Grid infrastructure
Smart meters
Superconducting transmissions
Wide area networking communications

Transportation

Batteries
Electropropulsion
Flywheel energy storage
Fuel cell vehicles
Hybrid propulsion
Stirling engines

Everyone in this industry

Experience

Represented REC before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and in parallel IPR filings regarding TOPCon solar cells.

2:24-cv-00260, E.D. Tex., Judge Gilstrap
IPR2025-00592, -00593, -00594, -00595, PTAB

Represented REC before the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and in parallel inter partes review (IPR) proceedings regarding half-cut solar cells, including Federal Circuit appeals.

1:20-cv-01622, D. Del., Judge Noreika
IPR2021-00988, -00989, PTAB, Judges Kaiser, Obermann, Range
23-1508, 23-1516, Fed. Cir., Judges Cunningham, Lourie, Reyna

Finnegan represents a New England company in the coordination of their patent protection strategies for biofuel technologies. We also counsel this client regarding strategic partnerships and provide landscape analysis.

Represented REC before the International Trade Commission, resulting in a summary determination ruling of noninfringement in favor of REC, as well as parallel inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, regarding PERC solar cells, which was affirmed by the Federal Circuit on appeal.

337-TA-1151, ITC, Judge McNamara
IPR2019-01145, PTAB, Judges Abraham, Crumbley, Heaney
20-2115, Fed. Cir., Judges Chen, Linn, Moore
1:19-cv-00452, D. Del., Judge Noreika

Successfully represented petitioner in a series of inter partes review challenges to hybrid vehicle battery technology, securing final written decisions finding all of the challenged claims unpatentable for one patent, and most of the challenged claims unpatentable for another patent.

IPR2019-00011, -00012, -00014, PTAB

Patent owner's counsel in two IPRs relating to biofuels, with one case resulting in a grant of a motion to amend in an IPR proceeding—only the fourth time such a motion was granted.

IPR2013-00178; IPR2014-00192, PTAB