Peloton sued by ICON Health & Fitness over technology built into Bike+

ICON Health & Fitness, the company behind the NordicTrack product line has sued Peloton over some of the technology in Bike+.

As first reported by Bloomberg, this lawsuit is aimed at two of the key features of Bike+: the swivel screen and the auto-follow technology used to change resistance during a class. ICON’s basis is that it was issued a patent for the auto resistance feature in 2007 and the swivel screen in 2019.

“Some companies, like Peloton, have built (at least in part) entire businesses on the back of Icon’s patented technology.”

The companies have traded legal battles in the past. Peloton sued ICON in May over making on-demand classes seem live. Peloton calls these classes ‘encores’. ICON sued Peloton when the first bike was launch, and later when the first treadmill was launched.

In Thursday’s lawsuit, Icon fired back by saying it obtained “hundreds of patents on these systems before Peloton was founded.” It said that Peloton Chief Executive Officer John Foley met with Icon in 2013 in an attempt to use some of its patents and that Icon declined the opportunity to grant him a license.

Peloton has previously sued Flywheel and Echelon. Flywheel shut its company down after it settled the lawsuit in February. Peloton sued the Chattanooga based Echelon last October and accused it of making ‘cheap copycat products’ and waging a false advertising campaign.