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3 December 2018Patents

Hoover infringed iRobot patent, says USITC

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has found that multiple companies, including vacuum maker Hoover, have infringed a patent owned by American technology company iRobot Corporation.

The ITC made its final determination in its investigation into “robotic vacuum cleaning devices and components thereof such as spare parts” on Friday, November 30.

iRobot had asked the ITC to investigate nine companies, including Hoover and Black & Decker, for allegedly infringing six patents relating to vacuuming robots.

In May 2017, the ITC agreed to investigate Bissell Homecare; Hoover; Royal Appliance Manufacturing; Bobsweep Canada and Bobsweep USA; Black & Decker; Shenzhen ZhiYi Technology; Matsutek Enterprises; Suzhou Real Power Electric Appliance; and Shenzhen Silver Star Intelligent Technology.

In addition to the ITC proceedings, iRobot filed patent infringement complaints against Hoover, Black & Decker, and Shenzhen Silver Star Intelligent Technology at the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

In December, iRobot and Black & Decker reached a settlement agreement. iRobot removed Black & Decker from the pending ITC and Massachusetts litigation, and Black & Decker discontinued sales of all home robotic vacuums for a certain period of time.

Bissell Homecare, Suzhou Real Power Electric Appliance, and Matsutek Enterprises were also removed from the investigation, as were two of the six patents that iRobot had initially asserted.

In June, an administrative law judge found that two patents (8,474,090 and 6,809,490) had not been infringed, but the remaining two (9,038,233 and 8,600,553) had been.

Since then, iRobot and Shenzhen ZhiYi Technology settled and, as Shenzhen ZhiYi Technology was the only company left which had allegedly infringed the ‘553 patent, this patent was also removed from the complaint.

On Friday, the ITC disagreed with iRobot’s claims that the remaining companies had induced or contributed to infringement of the other patents, but it upheld the judge’s finding that they had infringed the ‘233 patent.

The commission issued cease-and-desist orders against Hoover, Royal Appliance Manufacturing, Bobsweep Canada, and Bobsweep US.

It also issued a limited exclusion order to prevent the unlicensed entry in the US of vacuum cleaners and parts which infringe claims of the ‘233 patent. The order covers Hoover, Bobsweep, and Shenzhen Silver Star Intelligent Technology.

The order additionally prohibits Hoover and Bobsweep from selling or distributing their respective infringing products within the US.

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