When someone shares with you something of value, you have an obligation to share it with others.
Friday 12 September 2014
Segway files suit against copycats
Segway, maker of the self-balancing “people mover” that has struggled to expand beyond a niche market since its splashy debut 13 years ago, is suing its growing number of imitators.
Segway, maker of the self-balancing “people mover” that has struggled to expand beyond a niche market since its splashy debut 13 years ago, is suing its growing number of imitators.
The Inmotion transporter, promoted heavily at consumer electronics shows, as well as the WindRunner, Ninebot, FreeGo and Robstep are being targeted in a trade complaint.
Segway and a firm controlled by inventor Dean Kamen are seeking to halt what they call a “widespread pattern of infringement” by the Chinese manufacturers.
They “duplicate, in some cases extremely closely, the design and operation of these Segway personal transporters”, Segway and Kamen’s Deka Products said.
The companies “intend their products to largely, if not completely, mimic Segways’s personal transporters in operation”.
The complaint filed with the International Trade Commission lists at least six manufacturers and three distributors that Segway claims are infringing two patents related to the transporter controls, and two for the design of the machines.
If Segway wins the case, the government could block the competing products made overseas from the US market.
Millard Jacobs, who runs the roboscooters.com [1] website, was one of the distributors named. He said he was told the makers of the scooters he sells - Shenzhen Inmotion Technologies, Robstep Robot and Ninebot - had developed their own technology.
Jacobs said the transporters he sells are smaller than the Segway and half the price - US$2,500. They were designed for people who had difficulty in moving on their own and needed something small and lightweight.
“Segway must be mad because they haven’t come out with a smaller transporter for people,” he said. “I wish they’d come to me, I’d love to promote whatever they have.”
He said Robstep and Inmotion came out with 35-pound transporters and “now you’ve got 20 companies trying to make copies”.
Kamen introduced the Segway in 2001 and began selling it in 2002. He sold the company, which was later bought by Summit Strategic Investments.
Segway’s products are popular with police and tour groups. Sales to individuals have been hampered by a high price tag and restrictions by cities on where the devices can be driven.
1 comment:
Segway files suit against copycats
Bloomberg in Washington
12 September 2014
Segway, maker of the self-balancing “people mover” that has struggled to expand beyond a niche market since its splashy debut 13 years ago, is suing its growing number of imitators.
The Inmotion transporter, promoted heavily at consumer electronics shows, as well as the WindRunner, Ninebot, FreeGo and Robstep are being targeted in a trade complaint.
Segway and a firm controlled by inventor Dean Kamen are seeking to halt what they call a “widespread pattern of infringement” by the Chinese manufacturers.
They “duplicate, in some cases extremely closely, the design and operation of these Segway personal transporters”, Segway and Kamen’s Deka Products said.
The companies “intend their products to largely, if not completely, mimic Segways’s personal transporters in operation”.
The complaint filed with the International Trade Commission lists at least six manufacturers and three distributors that Segway claims are infringing two patents related to the transporter controls, and two for the design of the machines.
If Segway wins the case, the government could block the competing products made overseas from the US market.
Millard Jacobs, who runs the roboscooters.com [1] website, was one of the distributors named. He said he was told the makers of the scooters he sells - Shenzhen Inmotion Technologies, Robstep Robot and Ninebot - had developed their own technology.
Jacobs said the transporters he sells are smaller than the Segway and half the price - US$2,500. They were designed for people who had difficulty in moving on their own and needed something small and lightweight.
“Segway must be mad because they haven’t come out with a smaller transporter for people,” he said. “I wish they’d come to me, I’d love to promote whatever they have.”
He said Robstep and Inmotion came out with 35-pound transporters and “now you’ve got 20 companies trying to make copies”.
Kamen introduced the Segway in 2001 and began selling it in 2002. He sold the company, which was later bought by Summit Strategic Investments.
Segway’s products are popular with police and tour groups. Sales to individuals have been hampered by a high price tag and restrictions by cities on where the devices can be driven.
Post a Comment