Z-Wave, an interesting note

Lutron says the two-way RF operation of the Vizia dimmers infringes on their patents and is one of the reasons Lutron sued Leviton.

Oh, that's not nice. Looks like Z-Wave is in for some trouble. Too bad I was hoping for a wide range of products for the DIY community to challenge X10 and each other.

It looks like it will also be a problem for everyone using two-way RF from switches or even in j-boxes, including those using Zigbee (e.g. Control4). Of course, they can always pay Lutron a license fee. Or they might win in court but either way adds cost. Smarthome's approach seems to avoid the patents. I'm not sure about C-Bus. I played with one of their remotes and a dimmer switch. It was definitely two-way RF but I don't recall if that was only during the setup/linking process (querying the switch for its ID) or whether it reported status in normal operation which would seem to run afoul of Lutron.

Whatever happens with the patent suits, it's likely to drive up prices. Even Smarthome, while not directly affected will have room to raise prices and still stay competitive.

The news is that Leviton and Lutron have already settled the parts of the trademark and patent lawsuit dealing with the two-way RF control in Vizia, Vizia-RF, Acenti, and IlluminEssence = Monster) lines. Leviton has agreed to pay a licensing fee.

... Marc Marc_F_Hult

This is actually good for both sides. Lutron will make a bundle on licensing fees, at least until the competition comes up with a modification that avoids the patent issues, and the rest will go forward developing Z-Wave. For consumers it will likely mean a small bump in per unit cost. As Leviton's rep put it, "Infringement on some of the accused products is regretful, but was clearly inadvertent and not willful. This settlement will allow both companies to get back to business serving their respective customer bases and expanding the market for lighting controls."

For those of us in the trade who market Z-Wave along with other lighting controls, there will be a wider variety of goods and services to offer.

what trade is that?

The bullshit trade.

online selling of equipment that he never ever touched..

Blow up dolls, Tin Foil hats, and Hillary's fluffer.

You forget "saltwater lures"...