MWE Investments, LLC

MWE Investments, LLC is a private company based in Columbus, Ohio that manufactures and sells outdoor power equipment under the Westinghouse brand name. The company designs, engineers, and markets products including portable generators, inverter generators, and other power equipment for consumers and businesses. MWE Investments is an operating company that distributes its products through e-commerce and wholesale channels. In 2022, the company was the subject of a Federal Trade Commission complaint regarding warranty terms that allegedly restricted customers' right to repair their products using third-party parts or service providers.

MWE Investments is an active participant in patent disputes within the power equipment industry. The company's single tracked case as a plaintiff is an administrative challenge at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), where it acts as a petitioner seeking to invalidate a competitor's patent. This posture as an initiator of a patent challenge reflects a competitive strategy common among operating companies. While not in the tracked case list, public records show MWE Investments has also been named as a defendant in patent infringement lawsuits filed by competitors, indicating it is involved in litigation on both offensive and defensive fronts.

The company's most prominent tracked patent case is its role as one of several petitioners in Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc. et al. v. Champion Power Equipment, Inc. In this inter partes review, MWE Investments, along with co-petitioners Harbor Freight and Generac Power Systems, challenged the validity of a patent held by competitor Champion Power Equipment related to generator technology. This action highlights the competitive landscape for portable power generation technology, where major industry players use PTAB proceedings to challenge the patent rights of their rivals.