iRobot Files ITC Patent Infringement Complaint Against Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Products Including Robots Sold by Bissell, Hoover and Black & Decker

BEDFORD, Mass., April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in consumer robots and maker of the Roomba® vacuuming robot, today announced it has filed legal proceedings for patent infringement against multiple robotic vacuum cleaner manufacturers and sellers including Bissell, Hoover, bObsweep, iLife, Black & Decker and the Chinese or Taiwanese companies that manufacture the infringing products.

iRobot has asserted a total of six patents in the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts: U.S. Patent Nos. 6,809,490 (the '490 patent); 7,155,308 (the '308 patent); 8,474,090 (the '090 patent); 8,600,553 (the '553 patent); 9,038,233 (the '233 patent); and 9,486,924 (the '924 patent) against multiple respondents including Bissell Homecare, Inc., Hoover Inc., Royal Appliance Manufacturing Co. Inc. d/b/a TTI Floor Care North America, Inc., bObsweep, Inc., bObsweep USA, The Black & Decker Corporation, Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc., Shenzhen ZhiYi Technology Co., Ltd. d/b/a iLife, Matsutek Enterprises Co., Ltd., Suzhou Real Power Electric Appliance Co., Ltd., and Shenzhen Silver Star Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.

iRobot employs more than 500 persons in the United States who are dedicated to designing and building robots that empower people to do more. The current legal action leverages iRobot's significant IP portfolio in an effort to protect this domestic industry. In the action, iRobot is asking the ITC to institute an investigation into the infringement of the '490, '308, '090, '553, '233 and '924 patents, and to issue an exclusion order permanently barring infringing products from entry into the United States.

"As a pioneer in consumer robots for the home, iRobot has invested significantly in the development of robotic technologies and the protection of our intellectual property," said Colin Angle, chairman and chief executive officer of iRobot. "The contributions made by our talented team of engineers have been recognized with hundreds of awarded patents in the U.S. and across the world. The filing of this litigation signals our commitment to protecting our investments. We are confident that our strategy will result in continued growth and maintaining our global leadership position."

iRobot's continued innovation in the field of robotics has resulted in a growing patent portfolio that currently includes more than 300 issued U.S. patents and more than 900 issued patents worldwide. This IP portfolio has been ranked in the top ten in the Electronics Division by the IEEE patent power scorecard for each of the past three years. iRobot's products, including the award-winning Roomba® vacuuming robot and Braava® family of mopping robots, have been welcomed into millions of homes around the world.

About iRobot Corp.
iRobot, the leading global consumer robot company, designs and builds robots that empower people to do more both inside and outside of the home. iRobot created the home robot cleaning category with the introduction of its Roomba® Vacuuming Robot in 2002. Today, iRobot is a global enterprise that has sold more than 15 million robots worldwide. iRobot's product line, including the Roomba and the Braava® family of mopping robots, feature proprietary technologies and advanced concepts in cleaning, mapping and navigation. iRobot's engineers are building an ecosystem of robots and data to enable the smart home. For more information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com. 

For iRobot Investors
Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements relating to iRobot Corporation's expectations concerning the litigation. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. iRobot undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by iRobot, see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

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SOURCE iRobot Corp.