Peloton Leaderboard Patent Upheld & New Complaint Against iFit

There were two new developments last week in Peloton’s ongoing legal battles.

First, Peloton received a win in court on March 2 when the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) declared Peloton’s leaderboard patent valid. Echelon has been attempting to convince the board to void the U.S. Patent No. 10,486,026 because it covers an “obvious invention.” The patent relates to the digital leaderboard that measures competition between users on live and on demand Peloton classes.

As Law360 reports, the board sided with Peloton, finding that “Peloton’s ‘commercial success’ was largely tied to its grip on a computerized exercise system patent.”

This was a win for Peloton, as in January, the PTAB had declared that two other patents Peloton owned were invalid.

Peloton is not simply relying on old patents however. Just last November Peloton was issued a new patent covering some of the functionality and core software interface of the Peloton experience. They immediately filed two lawsuits against Echelon and iFit (the makers of NordicTrack) as a result.

The second development last week was a Peloton complaint filed against iFit (makers of NordicTrack). Law360 reports:

In a complaint filed late Thursday, Peloton said that when it first rolled out its stationary bikes and treadmills, which allow subscribers to remotely participate in streamed classes, its rival, NordicTrack maker iFit Inc., only offered a “simplistic suite of fitness offerings” that allowed users to follow along to pre-recorded classes. To keep up with Peloton, iFit resorted to IP theft, Peloton said.

Peloton is looking to block iFit from importing at-home fitness equipment that they argue rips off Peloton’s interactive exercise systems. In addition, Peloton has requested a cease-and-desist that would prevent iFit from selling and advertising infringing products.

This is the latest in an ongoing back and forth between Peloton and iFit. Just last month iFit filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission, asking them to block the import of Peloton’s Bike+ devices due to an alleged iFit patent infringement.

Neither Peloton, Echelon, nor iFit have provided any comments to the media in light of these latest developments


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Katie Weicher
Katie Weicher is a writer for Pelo Buddy. She purchased her Peloton Bike in 2016 and has been riding, strength training, and yoga flowing ever since. You can find her on the leaderboard at #kweich.

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