BEDFORD, Mass., Dec. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- iRobot Corp.
(NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in consumer robots and maker of the
Roomba® vacuuming robot, today announced that it has reached a
confidential agreement with Black & Decker. As part of the
agreement, Black & Decker agreed to discontinue sales of all
home robotic vacuums for a certain period of time after selling
through its existing inventory. The remaining terms of the
settlement are confidential.
"This settlement represents another successful milestone in the
enforcement effort iRobot initiated earlier this year," said
Glen Weinstein, executive vice
president and chief legal officer at iRobot. "iRobot believes in
the strength of its patents, and the agreement by Black &
Decker to discontinue sales of any home robotic vacuums for a
certain period of time signifies, yet again, the value of iRobot's
intellectual property."
As part of the agreement, iRobot has agreed to remove Black
& Decker from the pending U.S. International Trade Commission
("ITC") investigation No. 337-TA-1057 ("In the Matter of Certain
Robotic Vacuum Cleaning Devices and Components Thereof Such as
Spare Parts") and the United
States District Court of Massachusetts Case No.
1:17-cv-10647. The actions involving Bissell Homecare, Inc., bObsweep, Inc., bObsweep
USA, Hoover, Shenzhen ZhiYi
Technology Co., Ltd., Matsutek Enterprises Co., Ltd., and Shenzhen
Silver Star Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. will proceed. An
evidentiary hearing in the ITC investigation is scheduled for
March 2018.
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
20 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.