AllThingsD » Tony Fadell

Nest Fires Back in Honeywell Suit, Brings Apple Chief Legal Counsel on Board

Lauren Goode — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:59:58 +0000

The fight over a thermostat just heated up some more.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Nest, maker of a “smart” thermostat and target of a patent-infringement lawsuit filed by industrial giant Honeywell, has submitted a formal response to Honeywell’s claims.

The start-up has also brought Richard “Chip” Lutton, a 10-year Apple Inc. veteran who managed the company’s patent portfolio, on board as vice president and general counsel.

In Honeywell’s suit against Nest, first filed in a U.S. district court in Minnesota on Feb. 6, Honeywell, maker of the iconic round thermostat, identified seven patents it believes Nest Labs infringes on with its Nest Learning Thermostat, a digital thermostat that came to market late last year. (You can read more about Honeywell’s complaint here.)

And now Nest has fired back.

“Nest does not use the Honeywell patents; but even if the patents covered what Honeywell alleges, they are hopelessly invalid. They are retreads — already invented by others years before …” the response reads.

Nest goes on to point out that specific patents — around remotely controlling temperature set-point marks, displaying temperature set points on an LCD inside a rotating ring, and presenting a user of an HVAC controller with “complete grammatical sentences” — are either indistinguishable from earlier Honeywell patents or aren’t worthy of a patent.

Chip Lutton, Nest's new vice president and general counsel.

The start-up does admit it was using Honeywell thermostats as research in its labs, stating, “Nest Labs admits that some Honeywell thermostats and/or boxes for Honeywell thermostats are shown in the photograph.” In the original filing, Honeywell references an AllThingsD video from last year showing that Nest Labs was examining “numerous” Honeywell thermostats in its research, indicating that Nest was aware of Honeywell’s contributions to the thermostat industry.

Despite the fact that Honeywell is an “industrial behemoth” with revenues that exceeded $36 billion in 2011, Nest says the company hasn’t innovated. “That ‘blah-looking controller’ on the market today is very often from Honeywell, which has long dominated the thermostat market, but has yet to generate a device that offers ordinary consumers as much as the Nest Learning Thermostat,” Nest claims.

Through the nature of its response and by bringing in Lutton, Nest doesn’t seem to be shying away from a battle with Honeywell, despite the David-and-Goliath nature of the fight.

Lutton’s departure from Apple was first reported last July, just as Apple was filing another complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, seeking a ban on the import of electronics and software made by rival HTC. That, of course, was just one complaint amid an ever-expanding web of patent lawsuits flying between Apple, Samsung, Motorola and Nokia, to name a few.

According to the Reuters report, Lutton is well-known in IP circles, and was once mentioned as a possible nominee for the Federal Circuit, which hears patent appeals.

Why Honeywell Is Suing Nest Labs

Lauren Goode — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:04:38 +0000

Honeywell International filed a patent-infringement lawsuit on Palo Alto-based Nest Labs yesterday, alleging that Nest’s relatively new digital thermostat encroaches on Honeywell’s patented technology.

You might be thinking: A thermostat’s a thermostat … right?

In Honeywell’s view, it’s not so simple. In the complaint, filed in a U.S. district court in Minnesota, the maker of aerospace systems, consumer products and technology solutions identified seven patents it believes Nest Labs infringes on.

Honeywell is also seeking damages from Best Buy, which features and sells Nest’s product in home-energy departments around the U.S. (Best Buy also sells Honeywell programmable thermostats.)

Nest Labs was recently launched by Matt Rogers and Tony Fadell, a former Apple executive who worked on the iPod. Last fall, Nest Labs began selling the Nest Learning Thermostat, a buzzed-about, easily programmable “smart” thermostat that uses the same wheel interface as the original iPod. The device can be controlled from a user’s smartphone, tablet or Web browser, and Fadell has been quoted as saying the Nest will save users up to 30 percent off their utility bills. With Nest, the uncool thermostat suddenly became a hot item.

Nest Labs did not respond to requests for comments on the suit, except to release a statement yesterday, saying they had not yet reviewed the actual filing, and that the company will provide comment once they’ve had the opportunity to review it.

Speaking for Honeywell, Bruce Eric Anderson, the company’s director of external communications, expounded on Honeywell’s statement from yesterday, saying that intellectual property is a “part of what Honeywell is as a company. We have 20,000 engineers that come here every day and it’s about protecting those individuals. This suit is not unique,” Anderson added.

Rather than go through the filing patent by patent, here are a few of the key sticking points of the suit:

First, Honeywell points out that it commercialized the first adjustable thermostat that allowed users to sleep through the night without having to manually turn their furnaces on and off; and that it is a global leader of innovative thermostats, and created the iconic “round” thermostat that’s now featured in the Smithsonian museum collection.

Honeywell goes on to mention more recent innovations, including its Prestige 2.0 Comfort Systems and RedLINK Wireless Comfort Sytems. More on the Prestige in a bit.

In the section titled “Acts Giving Rise to the Action,” the Honeywell filing points to various features of the Nest thermostat that have been promoted by Nest Labs and Best Buy as “innovative,” including the ability to connect the device to the Internet, store private data and control the Nest remotely through a Wi-Fi connection. Honeywell also takes issue with Fadell and Rogers having said that there hasn’t been any real innovation in decades in the thermostat space, though the sources of this quote and others are unclear.

Honeywell alleges that Nest Labs does not appear to have originated the design or functionality of the Nest thermostat — and says the key functional features at the core of the device are the results of years of research and development that culminated in patents owned by Honeywell.

For example, Honeywell’s complaint says, the fact that the Nest thermometer came with a patented “question system” — “What are the lowest and highest temperatures you’d like when you are away?” — is not new. Honeywell’s Prestige thermostat, introduced in late 2008, also incorporates an “interview-based interface.”

Honeywell also says that controlling a thermostat remotely through the Internet is not a Nest Labs innovation.

Interestingly, General Electric also offers consumers — as part of a home-energy management system — the ability to remotely control a GE “smart” thermostat from a smartphone or home computer. “Connect seamlessly to your programmable thermostat to remotely adjust your home climate,” says GE’s Web page for this feature.

When I asked Anderson whether Honeywell had ever examined GE’s system, he simply said, “I don’t know. I’m not familiar with that product.”

In the filing, Honeywell also references this AllThingsD video from last November as showing evidence that Nest Labs was examining “numerous” Honeywell thermostats in its research, indicating that Nest — which it calls a “well-funded, sophisticated company” — was well aware of Honeywell’s contributions to the thermostat industry.

So, Honeywell says, it has suffered and will suffer monetary damages and irreparable harm as a result of Nest Labs’s infringements, as well as from Best Buy’s infringements by using, offering to sell and/or selling the Nest device.

Since we don’t have a more detailed response from Nest Labs yet, it’s hard to know how this will play out. It’s also unclear whether Honeywell contacted Nest Labs prior to filing the formal suit.

Ed Weisz, a senior intellectual property lawyer at the firm of Cozen O’Connor (which is not involved in the Honeywell suit), says that most cases like this one result in a settlement. However, if it is determined that there has been a patent infringement, Weisz says, Honeywell could seek an injunction — which the courts may be more likely to grant, because there’s actually a product already out on the market.

Weisz also said that, while Best Buy is enjoined in the suit, he doesn’t think the retailer will be on the hook for additional damages, as their sale of goods — even ones that might infringe on IP — will be covered by the Uniform Commercial Code.

“It’s way too premature to have any read on the merits of this,” Weisz said.

What we do know is that in Silicon Valley — and in Honeywell’s case, outside of the Valley, too — tech-patent lawsuits are hardly uncommon, especially in the smartphone and tablet market.

We’ll keep you posted as this story evolves.

From iPods to Thermostats: Nest CEO and Founder Tony Fadell Speaks! (Video)

Kara Swisher — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:02:43 +0000

When Tony Fadell left Apple for good in March of last year, the man who has been dubbed the “father of the iPod” said in an interview that his “primary focus will be helping the environment by working with consumer green-tech companies.”

Fadell has kind of kept that promise with the recent launch of Nest, his new start-up that is focused on super-smart, well, thermostats.

Before you drift off to dreamland at the thought of being even slightly interested in the mundane household device that you fight over with your family (along with the remote), Nest is indeed in keeping with the idea of making the home more digitally aware.

With a wheel user interface, a Wi-Fi connection, sensors aplenty and an ability to learn your behavorial patterns, Nest is a temperature-taking version of an iPod.

And it’s also pretty, clad in simple brushed stainless steel, and pricey too. And, also like most Apple products, it is selling like hotcakes.

Here’s the always affable Fadell talking about why he moved in this unusual direction, although he gives up little info about Nest’s funding:

[ See post to watch video ]

A Gadget for the Home Learns by Degrees

Katherine Boehret — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:40:44 +0000

There are few technology products less inspiring than the thermostat. Yet for the past week, I’ve been more captivated by a thermostat than I ever thought possible.

It’s a thermostat called Nest from iPod inventor Tony Fadell’s new start-up, Nest Labs. And like Apple, Nest Labs has taken something you use every day and made it simple and delightful to use.

Nest operates with the same genius wheel user interface as the original iPod, with a digital screen in its center. It connects to your Wi-Fi network, allowing you to control it remotely via an iPhone app or the Web. And its stylish design made of brushed stainless steel is a showpiece.

[ See post to watch video ]

What makes Nest stand out from other programmable thermostats is that it learns your behavioral patterns and creates a temperature-setting schedule from them. Nest has six sensors that can determine things like when you’re away from home.

Suddenly, I can’t imagine my house without a Nest.

Up front, it’ll cost you. Nest will be $249 when it’s available the week of Nov. 14. Installation costs $119 for the first unit and $25 for each additional unit. You can opt to install it yourself, but I strongly suggest ponying up for a professional installation unless you or someone you know has electrical expertise.

Installation took me an hour and a half, including removing my old unit and unplugging six wires, pushing anchors and screws into my wall, attaching the Nest base, clipping and stripping six wires to fit the new system, and using all manner of tools to fit the wires into the base. (Nest comes with four screwdrivers but no needle nose pliers, which are a big help.) After all this, my Nest didn’t run properly. The company sent someone to fix it, who discovered that only three of my system’s wires were attached, mimicking a working system without a fan.

The Nest thermostat.

Setting up Nest’s software was a breeze. Elegantly animated menus and instructions walked me through each step, including setting up my Wi-Fi network, setting my highest and lowest overall temperatures and entering my ZIP Code.

I entered data on my Nest by turning its outer ring left or right to skim through letters, numbers and symbols, and pushing in the center of the device to select each one. A gentle clicking sound — like the old iPod wheel — can be heard as you turn this ring and pass over each character.

At first, Nest doesn’t do much because it’s waiting for you to use it so it can learn your preferences. Turning the outer ring right or left adjusts the temperature. Cranking up the heat several degrees turned the Nest screen red; turning down the heat made the screen blue.

A little green leaf appears on the screen if an adjustment you make sets your system into energy-conserving mode relative to your normal behavior. This tiny symbol made me feel like I earned a gold star at school for good behavior.

Another way Nest teaches people is with on-screen messages that say how long it will take to get to a desired temperature. For example, if I turn my heat up two degrees from 72 degrees, a message on the screen may say, “In 30 minutes,” with a 74 below this message. This data is meant to deter people from making drastic temperature changes.

After two days of use, a message appeared on my Nest saying, “Initial heating schedule learning complete.” If the device’s sensors detect that no one has walked by the Nest in the past two hours, it goes into Away mode, automatically adjusting to the most energy-conserving temperature, set ahead of time.

Nest operates with the same genius wheel user interface as the original iPod, with a digital screen in its center.

If I didn’t agree with any of these learned behaviors, I could tweak the temperatures to my liking, and Nest adjusted to these corrections. After I adjusted the temperature two nights in a row so the house would be cooler when we were sleeping, Nest learned this and automatically adjusted temperatures around 11:30 p.m. We like heat in the morning, so Nest had the heat going when I hopped out of bed.

Nest.com, the website where people can control their device and review schedules and behavior, wasn’t yet live when I tested. The site shows a summary page of your Nest account, which reflects how much time your heat or air conditioning was used per day. A green leaf is awarded to the days on which the least energy was consumed.

To use the Nest app, you need only hold your iPhone in landscape view, and as long as it’s running on the same Wi-Fi network, the thermostat’s account is automatically set up on the iPhone. The iPhone app let me adjust temperatures from afar. One chilly day at work, I opened the Nest app and turned up my heat just before I went home.

People with more than one thermostat in one home can use more than one Nest, and they’ll all communicate with one another, though each can be adjusted to different temperatures. People with multiple homes can put all of their Nests on the same account.

Nest can get automatic software updates that the company says will let it do things in the future like adjusting temperatures according to current local weather and showing how much money temperature adjustments will save on utility bills.

Tony "Father of the iPod" Fadell Leaves Apple

John Paczkowski — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:45:34 +0000

Nearly a year and a half after stepping down as senior vice president of Apple’s iPod division, Tony Fadell is leaving the company for good.

Fadell, one of the chief architects of Apple’s audio strategy (there were obviously others, and top Apple execs sometimes bristle at Fadell being credited with paternity), had been working as an adviser to Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs since being replaced in November 2008 by former IBM (IBM) exec Mark Papermaster. Now his time in that diminished role has ended and Fadell is moving on.

Fadell’s plans? “My primary focus will be helping the environment by working with consumer green-tech companies,” he told the New York Times, which first reported his departure. “I’m determined to tell my kids and grandkids amazing stories beyond my iPod and iPhone ones.”

Google and Yahoo, Ahem, "Downsize" Ad Pact

John Paczkowski — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:00:06 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

Google and Yahoo, Ahem, "Downsize" Ad Pact

John Paczkowski — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:00:06 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

Apple to Pay Departing "Father of iPod" $300,000 Shut-Up Money Annually

John Paczkowski — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:17:23 +0000

“Advisor” to Apple CEO Steve Jobs is a killer gig–if you can swing it. Just ask Tony Fadell. The now former senior vice president of the company’s iPod division will collect an annual salary of $300,000 until March 24, 2010, in his new role of Special Advisor to the CEO, according to Apple’s latest 10-K. He’ll also be entitled to bonus and health benefits. And be expected to keep his distance from Apple’s rivals. If he doesn’t, he can say goodbye to those 77,500 restricted Apple (AAPL) stock options set to vest in full in March of 2010. Silence is golden–in this case, golden handcuffs.

On November 3, 2008, Tony Fadell, Senior Vice President, iPod Division of Apple became Special Advisor to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. In this new position, Mr. Fadell no longer will be an executive officer of the Company. In connection therewith, Mr. Fadell and the Company have entered into a Transition Agreement and a Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Transition Agreement” and the “Settlement Agreement,” respectively), under which Mr. Fadell will receive a salary of three hundred thousand dollars annually, and will be entitled to bonus and other health and welfare benefits generally available to other senior managers for the duration of the Transition Agreement, which remains in effect until March 24, 2010. The Transition Agreement also provides for the cancellation of outstanding and unvested 155,000 restricted stock units held by Mr. Fadell. Upon approval by the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors, Mr. Fadell will be granted 77,500 restricted stock units that will vest in full on March 24, 2010, subject to his continued employment with the Company through the vesting date and further subject to accelerated vesting if the Company terminates his employment without cause. The restricted stock units are payable upon vesting in shares of the Company’s common stock on a one-for-one basis. The Settlement Agreement includes Mr. Fadell’s release of claims against the Company and agreement not to solicit the Company’s employees for one year following the termination of his employment.”

Apple to Pay Departing "Father of iPod" $300,000 Shut-Up Money Annually

John Paczkowski — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:17:23 +0000

On November 3, 2008, Tony Fadell, Senior Vice President, iPod Division of Apple became Special Advisor to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. In this new position, Mr. Fadell no longer will be an executive officer of the Company. In connection therewith, Mr. Fadell and the Company have entered into a Transition Agreement and a Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Transition Agreement” and the “Settlement Agreement,” respectively), under which Mr. Fadell will receive a salary of three hundred thousand dollars annually, and will be entitled to bonus and other health and welfare benefits generally available to other senior managers for the duration of the Transition Agreement, which remains in effect until March 24, 2010. The Transition Agreement also provides for the cancellation of outstanding and unvested 155,000 restricted stock units held by Mr. Fadell. Upon approval by the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors, Mr. Fadell will be granted 77,500 restricted stock units that will vest in full on March 24, 2010, subject to his continued employment with the Company through the vesting date and further subject to accelerated vesting if the Company terminates his employment without cause. The restricted stock units are payable upon vesting in shares of the Company’s common stock on a one-for-one basis. The Settlement Agreement includes Mr. Fadell’s release of claims against the Company and agreement not to solicit the Company’s employees for one year following the termination of his employment.”

Apple's iPod VP to Spend More Time With Friends, Family …

John Paczkowski — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:31:25 +0000

If IBM veteran Mark Papermaster is able to begin work at Apple (AAPL) without being sued into oblivion by his former employer, he may end up in Tony Fadell’s old office. Fadell, senior vice president of Apple’s iPod division and one of the chief architects of its audio strategy, is leaving the company and Papermaster is his intended replacement. The reason for Fadell’s departure? A young family that needs tending to.

Fadell is one of Apple’s key technology executives, and the company is spinning the hell out of his departure, which frankly can’t be viewed as anything other than bad news. Fadell is not leaving Apple, so much as he is “reducing” his role, the company tells us. And he will, of course, remain a trusted adviser to Steve Jobs, which I suppose means he’s still on the Apple CEO’s Christmas card list.

Fadell, it should be noted, has on occasion been mentioned as one of Jobs’s potential successors, given his deep involvement in some of Apple’s marquee product lines. That said, he was nowhere to be seen at either of the company’s last two public events, which were clearly intended to show off the depth of Apple’s executive bench. And obviously his name is no longer on the short list for the CEO seat. Perhaps, it hasn’t been for some time, and that’s what inspired this new focus on family life.

Below is the full text of Apple’s release on the personnel changes.

Mark Papermaster Joins Apple as Senior Vice President of Devices Hardware Engineering

CUPERTINO, California—November 4, 2008—Apple today announced that Mark Papermaster is joining the Company as senior vice president of Devices Hardware Engineering, reporting to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Papermaster, who comes to Apple from IBM, will lead Apple’s iPod and iPhone hardware engineering teams. Papermaster has 25 years of product and technology experience, and was previously a vice president at IBM.

Apple also announced that Tony Fadell, Apple’s senior vice president of the iPod Division, and his wife Danielle Lambert, vice president of Human Resources, are reducing their roles within the company as they devote more time to their young family. Fadell will remain at Apple as an advisor to the CEO. Lambert will depart the company at the end of this year after a successor is in place.

‘Mark is a seasoned leader and is going to be an excellent addition to our senior management team,’ said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. ‘Tony and Dani have each made important contributions to Apple over the past eight years. We’re sorry to see Dani go, and are looking forward to working with Tony in his new capacity.’

Papermaster has a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Texas, and Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Vermont in 1988. He is active with the University of Texas where he is a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Council.”

Apple's iPod VP to Spend More Time With Friends, Family …

John Paczkowski — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:31:25 +0000

Below is the full text of Apple’s release on the personnel changes.

Mark Papermaster Joins Apple as Senior Vice President of Devices Hardware Engineering

CUPERTINO, California—November 4, 2008—Apple today announced that Mark Papermaster is joining the Company as senior vice president of Devices Hardware Engineering, reporting to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Papermaster, who comes to Apple from IBM, will lead Apple’s iPod and iPhone hardware engineering teams. Papermaster has 25 years of product and technology experience, and was previously a vice president at IBM.

Apple also announced that Tony Fadell, Apple’s senior vice president of the iPod Division, and his wife Danielle Lambert, vice president of Human Resources, are reducing their roles within the company as they devote more time to their young family. Fadell will remain at Apple as an advisor to the CEO. Lambert will depart the company at the end of this year after a successor is in place.

‘Mark is a seasoned leader and is going to be an excellent addition to our senior management team,’ said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. ‘Tony and Dani have each made important contributions to Apple over the past eight years. We’re sorry to see Dani go, and are looking forward to working with Tony in his new capacity.’

Papermaster has a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Texas, and Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Vermont in 1988. He is active with the University of Texas where he is a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Council.”