iRobot patent win
Just found an article about on bizJornals talking about iRobot’s win against a Roomba copycat.
Some background on the case:
In March, Canada-based Urus and Koolatron began selling a “smart” vacuum under the Koolvac brand. IRobot sued in May for an undetermined amount of monetary damages, terming Koolvac “a complete knock-off” of Roomba.
And the result:
IRobot Corp. speedily settled its patent infringement case against Urus Industrial Corp. and subsidiary Koolatron Corp., with the latter two entities agreeing not to sell in the United States a robotic floor vacuum that competes with iRobot’s Roomba product.
I wonder if the Scooba copycats will ever hit the shelves in the United States? Especially since iRobot filed for a $115 million IPO, they certainly will have the funds to go after any patent breachers. iRobot currently has 19 patents, and another 25 pending.
