Dust settles on SharkNinja’s robotic vacuum dispute
Robotic vacuum makers resolve litigation spanning five years | Settlement seeks stay on all remaining deadlines and cancels scheduled conference | Case concerned SharkNinja’s alleged patent infringement and false advertising.
iRobot and SharkNinja have resolved their long-running clash concerning the alleged infringement of patented technology used in robotic vacuum cleaners.
The settlement, filed March 11, 2024, sought a stay on all remaining deadlines, including the cancellation of the scheduled status conference, due to be held just two days later..
The agreement in principle, made at the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, marked an end to the five-year dispute between the two robotic companies.
Specifics of the settlement agreement are yet to be disclosed pending approval from the court.
Case background
Bedford-based iRobot first filed its complaint against SharkNinja in 2019, alleging patent infringement and false advertising against the company located just 15 miles away in Needham, Massachusetts.
The origins of the dispute date back to 2017 when SharkNinja announced that it would release a robot vacuum.
SharkNinja was accused of engaging in unauthorised manufacturing, use, sale, and/or offer to sell products within the US that infringe several patents held by iRobot.
The patents-in-suit included US patent numbers: 9,550,294, 9,492,048, 8,950,038, 8,418,303, and 10,045,676—collectively representing key technological innovations in robotic cleaners.
iRobot argued the Shark IQ Robot product line infringed these patents and that its advertising misrepresented the capabilities of the robotic vacuum.
The complaint highlighted SharkNinja's alleged false assertions concerning a ‘recharge and resume’ feature, which iRobot claimed is a key patented technology.
iRobot argued that SharkNinja's false advertising posed a threat to its market share, reputation and goodwill.
It also alleged SharkNinja had engaged in unfair competition by comparing its products directly to iRobot's Roomba vacuums, which launched in September 2002, and by falsely offering similar technological advancements at a significantly lower price.
ITC dispute
iRobot also filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) in January 2021, alleging that SharkNinja infringed four of its patents.
In October 2022, only two of the patents were found to have infringed on iRobots technology—US patent numbers 9,884,423 and 10,813,517— in an initial decision by ITC Judge MaryJoan McNamara.
The ‘423 patent protects autonomous robot auto-docking and energy management systems and methods, and the ‘517 patent protects the navigational control system for robotic devices.
The ITC said in March 2023, that it would ban imports of the SharkNinja robot vacuums, upholding McNamara’s initial decision.
President Joe Biden had 60 days to review the import ban before it took effect and parties could also appeal the ITC decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit after the review period ended.
