The maker of the Roomba robotic vacuum has filed a lawsuit against a startup company called SharkNinja, claiming it is infringing on its patents for smart home cleaning devices. According to iRobot, which manufactures the Roomba, SharkNinja rushed “its copycat product in time for the holiday season.”
According to a report by Bloomberg, iRobot, the maker of the Roomba device is engaged in a legal battle with startup rival SharkNinja.
iRobot claims that SharkNinja has infringed upon its patent for a new device called the Roomba i7. The new device creates a map of your home for more effective cleaning. Shortly after the launch of the Roomba i7, SharkNinka launched the Shark IQ Robot, which utilizes a very similar home-scanning system, at a much lower price.
iRobot has asked a judge to issue an order, which would require SharkNinja to remove the Shark IQ Robot from the market. iRobot claims that SharkNinja has infringed on many of its patents.
“While it may have been easy for Shark to rush its copycat product in time for the holiday sales season, it will be impossible for iRobot to recoup its losses” if the case drags out for a year or more, iRobot said in a complaint against SharkNinja.
The Roomba i7 retails at $999.99 and and the SharkNinja IQ Robot retails at $449.40. SharkNinja filed a counterclaim on Friday in a Delaware court in which it argued that it did not infringe upon iRobot’s patents. The company claims that its product was developed through its own proprietary research and development process.
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