Whirlpool Sues Haier Over Low-Profile Microwave Hood Patents.

Whirlpool Corp. v. Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc., d/b/a GE Appliances, No. 1:26-cv-01426 (D. Del.), is a patent complaint filed November 5, 2026, with a jury demand. Whirlpool Corp. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The complaint describes Haier as a Delaware corporation doing business as GE Appliances with its principal place of business in Louisville, Kentucky, and pleads venue under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391 and 1400(b) because Haier is incorporated in Delaware and has committed acts of infringement there.

The patents and accused products

The complaint asserts three patents, each titled Combination Microwave and Hood System: U.S. Patent 11,079,118, issued August 3, 2021; U.S. Patent 12,764,837, issued October 13, 2026; and U.S. Patent 12,787,131, issued November 3, 2026. Whirlpool says it owns each patent by written assignment. The USPTO copies of the patents list the same titles and issue dates. The complaint alleges that Whirlpool's own low-profile microwave hood combination products practice the patents and are marked with the patent numbers.

The complaint walks through independent claim 6 of the '118 patent, independent claims 1 and 31 of the '837 patent, and independent claim 1 of the '131 patent element by element against SKU UVM9125STSS.

Claim 6 of the '118 patent claims an external enclosure for a combined ventilation hood and microwave oven system. Its outer wrapper has a top surface and two side portions and air passages that include a cooling air inlet, a cooling air outlet in fluid communication with that inlet, and at least one recirculation vent outlet, and the top surface defines an outside vent outlet. The enclosure also has a door, a rear plate, and a base plate defining at least one vent inlet in fluid communication with the recirculation vent outlet and the outside vent outlet.

Claim 1 of the '837 patent claims a microwave oven with an external enclosure made up of two side portions, a top portion, a rear portion, a door, and a bottom portion whose bottom surface has corners defining a horizontal plane. An air filter at the bottom surface has a planar extent at or above that plane and extends across at least one vent inlet in the bottom surface. The oven also has a cooking cavity that the door encloses, a cooking component inside the enclosure and outside the cavity, at least one vent outlet, at least one hood fan that draws ventilation air through the vent inlet from below the enclosure and expels it through the vent outlet, and a cooling air inlet, a cooling air outlet, and a cooling fan in fluid communication with both. The cooling fan, the hood fan, and the cooking component each sit between a vertical surface of the enclosure and the cooking cavity, above the air filter, and below the cooling air outlet and the vent outlet. Claim 31 recites the same elements, except that the hood fan draws and expels the ventilation air vertically and the three components sit above the air filter and below the cooling air inlet.

Claim 1 of the '131 patent claims a microwave hood combination appliance with an external enclosure having front, rear, top, bottom, and first and second side surfaces; a cooking cavity defined by cavity walls that extend between a top cavity wall and a bottom cavity wall; and a door that, when closed, extends from the plane of the enclosure's bottom surface to the plane of its top surface. A magnetron sits in a cooking component area laterally adjacent to the cavity that extends from the cavity to the second side surface, and a cooling fan drives cooling airflow through that area to cool the magnetron. The appliance also has at least one ventilation inlet at the bottom surface, at least one air outlet at the top plane between the front and rear edges of the top surface, a ventilation passage extending from the inlet between the enclosure and the cavity, and a hood fan assembly inside the enclosure and outside the cavity in fluid communication with that passage.

The complaint alleges that Haier copied Whirlpool's design, launching a line of copycat products under the GE brand name after Whirlpool's product launch. On information and belief, it says Haier sells the accused products under the GE brand. It lists SKUs UVM9125STSS, UVM912DYWW, and UVM912DYBB and alleges, on information and belief, that the accused products share the same relevant structure and airflow configuration, so that SKU UVM9125STSS is representative. On information and belief, it says a third-party manufacturer, with which Haier acts in concert, makes the accused products that Haier distributes in the United States.

The counts

Each count alleges, on information and belief, direct infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(a) and induced infringement under § 271(b): Count I of at least claim 6 of the '118 patent, Count II of at least claims 1 and 31 of the '837 patent, and Count III of at least claim 1 of the '131 patent. For the '118 patent, the complaint alleges, on information and belief, that Haier has known of the patent and the alleged infringement since at least the November 18, 2025 filing of a related complaint at the International Trade Commission that involved the '118 patent and named Haier as a party. It also alleges that Haier knew of its alleged infringement of at least claim 6 no later than May 1, 2026, when Whirlpool moved in that proceeding to add allegations of infringement of claim 6 and other claims against the third-party manufacturer. For the '837 and '131 patents, it alleges, on information and belief, knowledge from the filing of this complaint, which Whirlpool says it provided to Haier when it filed. Each count alleges, on information and belief, that Haier's infringement has been and continues to be willful.

The prayer asks the court to adjudge infringement of the asserted patents, award damages under 35 U.S.C. § 284 including treble damages for willful infringement, find the case exceptional under § 285 and award attorneys' fees, enjoin further infringement, and award costs, expenses, and pre- and post-judgment interest. Whirlpool demands a jury trial.

Docket

The docket through November 5, 2026, lists the complaint, magistrate consent forms, the patent report to the Commissioner, a Rule 7.1 disclosure, and a summons issued, all dated November 5, 2026. The same day, Whirlpool filed suits on the same three patents in this court, No. 1:26-cv-01425, and in the Eastern District of Texas, Nos. 2:26-cv-01001 and 2:26-cv-01002. Whirlpool also asserted the '118 patent, with four other patents, in No. 2:25-cv-01137 (E.D. Tex.), filed November 18, 2025.