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Lawsuit claims patent infringement by Naperville smart meters

A federal lawsuit alleges Naperville has violated a Florida company's patent because of the way electric customers' wireless smart meters transmit information to the city utility.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Miami-based Atlas IP, LLC, claims Naperville is infringing on a patent Atlas holds that covers a certain type of communication protocol for wireless devices to send and receive messages on a network.

The suit claims smart meters in Naperville use that patented process to wirelessly transmit data between each individual customer's meter and the city electric utility.

George Summerfield, the attorney listed as representing Atlas on the lawsuit, did not return calls or an email seeking comment.

Naperville City Attorney Jill Wilger said the city was informed of the lawsuit Tuesday but not immediately served with the document. She said it would be premature to comment before the legal department has investigated.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money to compensate for damages caused by Naperville's alleged infringement of the patent.

Naperville installed roughly 57,400 electric smart meters in 2012. City officials have said electric use information transmitted by the devices already has helped keep more accurate track of power needs, anticipate future use and set rates accordingly.

Former Naperville City Council member Robert Fieseler is a patent attorney, but he's not involved with this lawsuit. He said companies that believe a patent they hold has been infringed can sue both the creator of the infringing product or technology and the customers who buy or use it.

In this case, he said, Naperville is a customer of smart meter technology purchased through several vendors and integrated by West Monroe Partners.

"We were an early entrant into the whole smart meter electric transmission system," Fieseler said. "It's not surprising that we'd be an early recipient of a claim that we're infringing on someone's patent."

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