Defendant
2 cases as defendant.
Champion Power Equipment, Inc. is a privately held American company founded in 2003 that designs and sells power generation equipment and other outdoor power tools. While its product design and engineering are based in the U.S., primarily in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, its manufacturing is located in China. The company is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, with additional facilities in California, Tennessee, and Ontario, Canada. While some sources estimate employee counts between 37 and 106, with revenue estimates from under $10 million to over $26 million annually, these figures could not be definitively verified. In 2020, Champion was acquired by MTD Products, which was subsequently acquired by Stanley Black & Decker in 2021. However, other sources state the company has remained fully private and independent.
Champion Power Equipment is an operating company known for its broad range of power products for residential, commercial, and recreational use. Its main product lines include portable generators, home standby generators, and inverter generators, some of which feature dual or tri-fuel technology (gasoline, propane, and natural gas). The company has sold over 4.5 million generators in North America. Beyond generators, the company's portfolio includes power stations, engines, log splitters, chipper shredders, winches, and water pumps.
As a litigant, Champion Power Equipment appears as both a plaintiff and a defendant. The company has one tracked case as a plaintiff and one as a defendant, indicating it is an active operating company that both asserts its own patents and is accused of infringing the patents of others. This litigation posture is typical of a manufacturer in a competitive technology space.
The company's tracked patent litigation involves a direct competitor, Harbor Freight Tools USA, Inc. The cases include Champion Power Equipment Inc. v. Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc. in the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Harbor Freight Tools USA, Inc. v. Champion Power Equipment, Inc. in the Central District of California. Champion has also been involved in other patent litigation not tracked in the provided data, such as a 2024 case it brought against Generac Power Systems, Inc., alleging infringement of eleven patents related to multi-fuel portable generators.
This inter partes review (IPR) proceeding is currently pending before the PTAB. The petitioners are challenging the validity of claims in the '101 patent as part of a broader dispute between Champion and its competitors.
Champion Power Equipment has asserted that U.S. Patent No. 11,840,970 is infringed by Harbor Freight Tools. A notice of a subpoena related to this case also lists the '970 patent among the "Patents-in-Suit".