BEDFORD, Mass., July 01, 2013 – iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in delivering robotic technology-based solutions, filed a lawsuit on June 14, 2013 in the District Court of Düsseldorf against the following companies: Elektrogeräte Solac Vertrieb GmbH, Electrodomésticos Solac S.A,Celaya, Emparanza y Galdos Internacional S.A, and Pardus GmbH.
The lawsuit asserts that the SOLAC ECOGENIC AA3400 robotic vacuum cleaning robot marketed and sold in Germany infringes on five European patents on technologies in the iRobot Roomba® vacuum cleaning robot, namely EP 1 331 537 B1, EP 2 251 757 B1, EP 1 969 438 B1, EP 1 395 888 B1 and EP 1 776 623 B1.
“iRobot has made significant investments to protect its intellectual property. The company has sold more than 9 million home robots worldwide and intends to protect its patent portfolio by the appropriate means available domestically and abroad,” said Colin Angle, chairman and chief executive officer of iRobot.
iRobot's patent portfolio now contains more than 200 U.S. patents and 195 non-U.S. patents. The iRobot Home Business Unit holds over 100 patents, many of which cover the Roomba® vacuum cleaning robot. Additional detail on iRobot intellectual property and patents can be found at www.irobot.com\patents.
In 2011, iRobot achieved a successful settlement with New Majestic S.p.A. after enforcing patents EP 1 969 438 and EP 2 251 757 in Italy.
About iRobot Corp.
iRobot designs and builds robots that make a difference. The company’s home robots help people find smarter ways to clean, and its government and industrial robots protect those in harm’s way. iRobot’s consumer and military robots feature iRobot Aware® robot intelligence systems, proprietary technology incorporating advanced concepts in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence. For more information about iRobot, please visitwww.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, among other things, iRobot Corp.’s expectations concerning management's plans, objectives and strategies. 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 Corp. 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 Corp., 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.
Contact:
Matt Lloyd
Media Relations
iRobot Corp.
(781) 430-3720
mlloyd@irobot.com
Elise Caffrey
Investor Relations
iRobot Corp.
(781) 430-3003
ecaffrey@irobot.com
