Some companies seem to blatantly commit patent infringement

One of the primary reasons for taking measures to protect intellectual property is to make sure no one else profits from the ideas of inventors here in California and elsewhere. For this reason, they go through the often painstaking process of applying for a patent, which is supposed to prevent others from using proprietary information. Unfortunately, some companies appear to blatantly commit patent infringement, which is now the assertion of iRobot against SharkNinja.

Most people are aware iRobot’s product called the Roomba. Many California residents probably take advantage of this technology in order to avoid having to vacuum since this product does it for them. While at least one other company has created its own version of this product, iRobot recently filed a lawsuit against one such company, SharkNinja, for infringing on several of its patents. In fact, the company claims that SharkNinja did not even try to hide the fact that it copied its designs.

Roomba’s creator claims that the other company hurried to get its product to market in time for the holiday season, which would significantly cut into iRobot’s profits. The company recently asked a federal court sitting in Massachusetts to issue a preliminary injunction against SharkNinja in order to keep the company from distributing and selling its alleged copycat product. In the meantime, SharkNinja filed its own lawsuit against iRobot in Delaware asking for a judicial declaration that it did not infringe upon the patents in question.

As would be the case here in California, the courts will decide what happens in iRobot’s patent infringement case. With all of the tech industries here in the state, these types of cases will more than likely not go away anytime soon. Companies need to remain vigilant in order to quickly identify competitors believed to be using patent protected ideas without permission and take legal action when necessary.