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Defendants awarded costs under Tariff B, doubled after settlement offers, rather than a lump sum.
Following the dismissal of the plaintiff's patent infringement action, the successful defendants sought their costs.
The Federal Court declined to award a lump sum based on actual fees, instead awarding costs to both defendants in accordance with the high end of Column IV of Tariff B, with double costs applied after the dates of their respective settlement offers.
Post-judgment interest was set at 2.5%.
Patent for electricity theft detection method found not infringed and invalid for anticipation and obviousness.
The plaintiff, dTechs epm Ltd., alleged that the defendants, BC Hydro and Awesense, infringed its patent (the 087 Patent) for a method of detecting electricity theft, primarily associated with marijuana grow operations.
The method involves monitoring electrical consumption on a primary supply line and comparing it to known consumption patterns.
The Federal Court construed the claims of the patent, concluding that "known consumption patterns" meant historical or predicted patterns, not same-time data from smart meters.
Based on this construction, the Court found that the defendants did not infringe the patent, as their systems relied on same-time energy balancing.
Furthermore, the Court found the asserted claims of the 087 Patent invalid for anticipation by BC Hydro's own prior use and two prior art references, and invalid for obviousness.
