Tools Aviation LLC v. Digital Pavilion Elec. LLC

MEMORANDUM & ORDER Plaintiff Tools Aviation, LLC sued Defendants Digital Pavilion Electronics LLC (“Digital”), East Brooklyn Labs LLC (“East Brooklyn”), and Firemall LLC (“Firemall”) (collectively, “Defendants”), for selling “battery caddies” in violation of three of Plaintiff’s patents. Plaintiff now seeks to dismiss Defendants’ counterclaim for tortious interference with business relations. For the reasons discussed below, the Court grants Plaintiff’s motion to dismiss Defendants’ counterclaim. BACKGROUND Plaintiff makes and sells a “battery caddy” under the trademarks Storacell® and Powerpax® (the “Storacell®” device) (see Complaint (“Compl.”), Dkt. 1,

17-21), pictured below: (see Dkt. 39, at 2; see also STORACELL BATTERY MANAGEMENT, AA — 12 Packs, https://storacell.net/products/aa-packs/#single/0 (last visited Sept. 17, 2021)). Plaintiff designed the Storacell® for pilots to store and dispense batteries in emergencies. (See Compl., Dkt. 1, 22.) The Storacell® also can provide a convenient battery storage method for use in homes, cars, offices, and shops. (Id.) On October 30, 2007, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) issued U.S. Patent No. 7,287,648 to Plaintiff, entitled “Battery Holder and Dispenser.” (See U.S. Patent No. 7,287,648 (“Patent ’648″), Dkt. 1-1.) On September 18, 2012, the PTO issued U.S. Patent No. 8,267,252 to Plaintiff, entitled “Battery Holder and Dispensing Package.” (See U.S. Patent No. 8,267,252 (“Patent ’252″), Dkt. 1-2.) On May 5, 2015, the PTO issued U.S. Patent No. 9,022,218 to Plaintiff, also entitled “Battery Holder and Dispensing Package.” (See U.S. Patent No. 9,022,218 (“Patent ’218″), Dkt. 1-3.) Sometime before October 16, 2019, Defendants began selling the “RadCad Battery Charger and Caddy for AA Rechargeable Batteries” (“RadCad”) and the “East Brooklyn Labs Durable AA Battery Storage” (“RadCad Caddy”) (Compl., Dkt. 1, 25), pictured below: (see Dkt. 1-16 (annotations removed); see also AMAZON, RadCad Battery Charger and Caddy for AA Rechargeable Batteries, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N8KGBPV?ref=vse_pfo_vdp (last visited Sept. 17, 2021)). On October 17, 2019, Digital received a complaint notice from Amazon.com (“Amazon”), indicating that Defendants’ sales of the RadCad had infringed on two of Plaintiff’s patents. (Third Amended Answer (“TAA”), Dkt. 24,