A patent complaint that Segway filed with the US International Trade Commission in 2014 has resulted in a wide-ranging order banning "personal transporters" that infringe some of its patents.
On Wednesday, the ITC issued a general exclusion order banning several types of the self-balancing devices often called "hoverboards." The case could affect the whole market, since a general exclusion order is the commission's most powerful remedy and can affect even parties not involved in the investigation.
There's also a limited exclusion order issued directly against the products of several Chinese companies sued by Segway. Only one of those companies responded and fought the case at all, while the others were in default.
The general ban applies to any device infringing US Patent No. 8,830,048, which could be a whole lot of products. The first claim of that patent describes a transporter with a drive, wheels, a "sensor for sensing the pitch of the user support," "yaw input," and a "control loop" for determining torque. Claim 2, also included in the exclusion order, describes the same thing, where the "user support" includes a handlebar.
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http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...o-win-an-import-ban-on-competing-hoverboards/
On Wednesday, the ITC issued a general exclusion order banning several types of the self-balancing devices often called "hoverboards." The case could affect the whole market, since a general exclusion order is the commission's most powerful remedy and can affect even parties not involved in the investigation.
There's also a limited exclusion order issued directly against the products of several Chinese companies sued by Segway. Only one of those companies responded and fought the case at all, while the others were in default.
The general ban applies to any device infringing US Patent No. 8,830,048, which could be a whole lot of products. The first claim of that patent describes a transporter with a drive, wheels, a "sensor for sensing the pitch of the user support," "yaw input," and a "control loop" for determining torque. Claim 2, also included in the exclusion order, describes the same thing, where the "user support" includes a handlebar.
Read the rest at the source
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...o-win-an-import-ban-on-competing-hoverboards/
