BEDFORD, Mass., April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- iRobot Corp.
(NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in consumer robots and maker of the
Roomba® vacuuming robot, today announced it has filed legal
proceedings for patent infringement against multiple robotic vacuum
cleaner manufacturers and sellers including Bissell, Hoover,
bObsweep, iLife, Black & Decker and the Chinese or Taiwanese
companies that manufacture the infringing products.
iRobot has asserted a total of six patents in
the United States International Trade Commission (ITC)
and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts: U.S. Patent Nos. 6,809,490 (the
'490 patent); 7,155,308 (the '308 patent); 8,474,090 (the '090
patent); 8,600,553 (the '553 patent); 9,038,233 (the '233 patent);
and 9,486,924 (the '924 patent) against multiple respondents
including Bissell Homecare, Inc.,
Hoover Inc., Royal Appliance Manufacturing Co. Inc. d/b/a TTI Floor
Care North America, Inc., bObsweep, Inc., bObsweep USA, The Black & Decker Corporation, Black
& Decker (U.S.) Inc., Shenzhen ZhiYi Technology Co., Ltd. d/b/a
iLife, Matsutek Enterprises Co., Ltd., Suzhou Real Power Electric
Appliance Co., Ltd., and Shenzhen Silver Star Intelligent
Technology Co., Ltd.
iRobot employs more than 500 persons in the United States who are dedicated to
designing and building robots that empower people to do more. The
current legal action leverages iRobot's significant IP portfolio in
an effort to protect this domestic industry. In the action, iRobot
is asking the ITC to institute an investigation into the
infringement of the '490, '308, '090, '553, '233 and '924 patents,
and to issue an exclusion order permanently barring infringing
products from entry into the United
States.
"As a pioneer in consumer robots for the home, iRobot has
invested significantly in the development of robotic technologies
and the protection of our intellectual property," said Colin Angle, chairman and chief executive
officer of iRobot. "The contributions made by our talented team of
engineers have been recognized with hundreds of awarded patents in
the U.S. and across the world. The filing of this litigation
signals our commitment to protecting our investments. We are
confident that our strategy will result in continued growth and
maintaining our global leadership position."
iRobot's continued innovation in the field of robotics has
resulted in a growing patent portfolio that currently includes more
than 300 issued U.S. patents and more than 900 issued patents
worldwide. This IP portfolio has been ranked in the top ten in the
Electronics Division by the IEEE patent power scorecard for each of
the past three years. iRobot's products, including the
award-winning Roomba® vacuuming robot and Braava®
family of mopping robots, have been welcomed into millions of homes
around the world.
About iRobot Corp.
iRobot, the leading global consumer robot company, designs and
builds robots that empower people to do more both inside and
outside of the home. iRobot created the home robot cleaning
category with the introduction of its Roomba® Vacuuming Robot in
2002. Today, iRobot is a global enterprise that has sold more than
15 million robots worldwide. iRobot's product line, including the
Roomba and the Braava® family of mopping robots,
feature proprietary technologies and advanced concepts in cleaning,
mapping and navigation. iRobot's engineers are building an
ecosystem of robots and data to enable the smart home. For more
information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com.
For iRobot Investors
Certain statements made in this
press release that are not based on historical information are
forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. This press release contains express or implied
forward-looking statements relating to iRobot Corporation's
expectations concerning the litigation. These statements are
neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of
risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control,
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and
prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date
hereof. iRobot undertakes no obligation to update or revise the
information contained in this press release, whether as a result of
new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For
additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by
iRobot, see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation,
our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q.
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SOURCE iRobot Corp.