iRobot Files New ITC Patent Infringement Case Against SharkNinja

iRobot asks the ITC to bar multiple Shark products from entry into the United States

iRobot, a leader in consumer robots and maker of the Roomba robot vacuum, announced it has filed a new patent infringement action against SharkNinja Operating LLC and its related entities (SharkNinja) at the International Trade Commission (ITC). The new lawsuit asks the ITC to exclude a multitude of SharkNinja robotic cleaning products from entering the United States for infringement of iRobot patents.

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iRobot’s lawsuit identifies the Shark IQ Robot, Shark AI Robot VACMOP, Shark AI Robot with AI Laser Vision, and Shark Ion robots as infringing products. The asserted patents span a variety of proprietary iRobot technologies, ranging from digital mapping to core Roomba technology: (1) U.S. Patent 9,884,423 (docking technology); (2) U.S. Patent 7,571,511 (side brush and hardware features); (3) U.S. Patent 10,813,517 (clean zones); (4) U.S. Patent 10,835,096 (mapping runs and map set-up); and (5) U.S. Patent 10,296,007 (carpet and floor detect technology). Today’s lawsuit raises claims in addition to the lawsuit filed by iRobot against SharkNinja in the District of Massachusetts in 2019 for infringement of other iRobot patents and false advertising by SharkNinja in connection with its Shark IQ robot vacuums. Including today’s lawsuit, iRobot has now asserted more than ten iRobot patents for infringement against SharkNinja.

“iRobot has accumulated more than 1,500 patents worldwide, which reflects innovative work, tenacity and dedication of our engineering teams over the past 30 years,” said Colin Angle, chairman and chief executive officer of iRobot. “SharkNinja has repeatedly  misappropriated iRobot’s intellectual property, and we refuse to let that stand.”

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The ITC is expected to review the matter and begin an investigation within 30 days. If the ITC’s investigation finds that the accused SharkNinja products infringe iRobot’s patents, an exclusion order may issue which would prevent SharkNinja from importing the accused products for sale in the United States. iRobot previously won an exclusion order against multiple respondents at the ITC in 2018. iRobot has also filed a co-pending lawsuit in the District of Massachusetts to recover monetary damages from SharkNinja for its infringement of these five patents.

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