Peloton being sued for alleged patent infringement

Peloton, the indoor fitness brand, is being sued for alleged patent infringement by the company that pioneered the static bike spinning craze back in the 1990s.

Mad Dogg Athletics, based in Venice, California, alleges that New York City-based Peloton has infringed two patents that it holds relating to electronic static bikes, reports Bicycle Retailer and and Industry News (BRAIN).

The plaintiff company, founded by two road cyclists in 1994, has filed for a jury trial the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall – a town that, as BRAIN points out, is known as “the patent litigation capital of America.”

Mad Dogg Athletics says that the venue is appropriate given that Peloton has a regional campus, as well as a shop, in Plano, Texas – although as this article from Texas Monthly makes clear, there’s a strong reason for a plaintiff in a patent infringement case seeking a jury trial there.

As well as seeking damages the lawsuit, which relates to the Peloton Bike and Peloton+ Bike, is also seeking damages as well as an order stopping the defendant from continuing to alleged infringement.

Peloton is currently facing a similar lawsuit, this one filed in Delaware, from Icon Fitness, which makes NordicTrak bikes; the company is counter-suiing, claiming that Icon Fitness attempted to steal its advertising plans.

Of course, Peloton itself is no stranger to threatening legal action if it perceives that its own intellectual property is being infringed.

Two years ago, the company attracted widespread derision in cycling circles when it threatened a YouTuber with legal action for using the word “peloton” in the titles of his videos. The company subsequently backed down.