Peloton Sues Echelon & iFit Over On-Demand Classes

NEW YORK, United States — Indoor cycling brand Peloton is suing rivals Echelon and iFit over claims both brands have infringed patents relating to its products and features.

According to Blomberg Law, Peloton argues that both companies are “profiting immensely from this infringement” and are gaining “free rides” from its innovative technology.

In court documents filed on Monday, Peloton said Echelon’s bikes, treadmills and rowing machines infringe a patent associated with its leaderboard function which enables users to compare their performance during live classes.

In its case against iFit, Peloton noted how the company’s bikes, treadmills and ellipticals infringe four patents relating to the same leaderboard function, as well as the use of technology that automatically adjusts aspects of a user’s workout speeds based on performance.

“Rather than develop new technology, Echelon chose to simply appropriate Peloton’s intellectual property and flood the market with cheap, copycat products,” Peloton commented in the lawsuit.

According to Peloton, it wants a court order to be issued to stop iFit and Echelon from infringing on its patents moving forward. It is also requesting compensation. 

Both iFit and Echelon are yet to publicly comment on the news however, it isn’t the first time either brand has faced the wrath of the fast-growing fitness company.

In 2019, Peloton filed another suit against Echelon for “imitating the Peloton Bike experience. It also previously sued iFit over similar patent infringements.

Echelon has also found itself in hot water with Amazon recently after making claims around the launch of an at-home bike developed in collaboration with the tech giant. Amazon was quick to shoot down the announcement, pulling the product from its site and issuing a statement in which it clarified the bike was not an Amazon product or related to Amazon Prime in any way.

In what’s becoming a period wrought with controversy for the disruptive startup, which has not only seen its shares plummet by 35% after slashing its annual sales forecast by as much as $1 billion but has also seen it face accusations of pay disparity from Black employees, the connected fitness-equipment maker is now looking to reverse its fortunes with the raise $1 billion from a stock offering.

Asked earlier this month by analysts whether it needed fresh capital to deal with its downturn, finance chief Jill Woodworth commented: “cutting to the chase, we don’t see the need for any additional capital raise based on our current outlook.” 

However, this doesn’t appear to be the case.

The US company now plans to sell around 23.9 million shares of its Class A common stock at a public offering price of $46, with proceeds from the stock sale already earmarked for general corporate purposes, which could include building or expanding facilities or buying other companies, products or technologies, a spokesperson said in a statement.

Following the news on Tuesday, its shares had already begun to rise.