The U.S. District Court of Massachusetts has granted iRobot its requested injunction against Robotic FX's Negotiator robot.
iRobot has alleged that the Negotiator robot built by Robotic FX infringes on two of its patents for the PackBot military robot.
iRobot is also suing Robotic FX's president, Jameel Ahed, as an individual. The company has accused the former iRobot employee of misappropriating confidential PackBot information he had access to while working at iRobot and using it in his company's Negotiator robot.
"The precise terms of the injunction follow in a separate Order, which shall be issued under seal because it narrowly specifies the trade secrets not to be infringed," U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner said in her order of November 2.
That separate order was filed by Judge Gertner on November 5, according to the U.S. District Court's official electronic document filing system.
The court held a sealed hearing on the matter over four days before coming to its decision. A pretrial conference is set for March 2008, with a trial to start no later than April 7, 2008, according to court documents.
"We are pleased with the court's decision," Colin Angle, iRobot's chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Robotic FX was not immediately available for comment.
Ahed and Robotic FX have said that they are not in violation.
The court case continues over the Negotiator military robot built by a former iRobot employee.
Jameel Ahed, who has garnered a $280 million contract to sell military robots to the government through his company Robotic FX, testified in a U.S. District Court of Massachusetts on Wednesday.
The Robotic FX president said that his robot was built from his own work while an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, not trade secrets stolen from iRobot while he worked there, The Boston Globe has reported.
Neither iRobot nor Robotic FX were immediately available for comment.
iRobot has alleged in two separate suits that Robotic FX is infringing on U.S. Patent Nos. 6,263,989 and 6,431,296. It has also alleged that Ahed as an individual misappropriated confidential iRobot information regarding the PackBot military robot that he had access to while an iRobot employee, according to complaints filed with the court.
Ahed and Robotic FX have maintained that they are not in violation.
"We make a vital homeland security device and my former company has known about our growing business for at least two years. Only now, when we are rivals for an important U.S. Government contract did they file this lawsuit. We believe we will prevail," Jameel Ahed, president of Robotic FX, said in an e-mailed statement in September.
On October 2, both parties entered a joint motion requesting presiding U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner to seal specific testimonies and transcripts from the public regarding confidential company information.
Robotics company iRobot announced Monday that it has filed two lawsuits concerning its PackBot military robot and former employee Jameel Ahed, the founder and president of Robotic FX.
Ahed's Illinois-based company sells the Negotiator, a tactical surveillance robot that has been purchased by Illinois state police.
The Negotiator by Robotic FX
(Credit: Robotic FX)Robotic FX's Negotiator is "a knock-off version of the combat-proven iRobot PackBot robot," said an iRobot statement on the matter.
"We are currently reviewing our legal options and intend to aggressively defend our position," Ahed said in an e-mailed statement.
"Robotic FX sold its first Negotiator Tactical Surveillance robot in July 2004. iRobot's lawsuits, filed more than three years later, comes during a time when the two parties are competing for a significant government contract," according to a Robotic FX statement.
One lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts Superior Court, is against Ahed personally for "misappropriation and misuse of confidential information related to iRobot's PackBot that was used to build the Negotiator," according to an iRobot statement.
The second is a patent infringement lawsuit against Robotic FX in Alabama Northern District Court.
iRobot PackBot
(Credit: iRobot)The Negotiator allegedly violates U.S. Patent Nos. 6,263,989 and 6,431,296 that relate to robot platform and mobility, according iRobot's August 17 complaint filed in federal district court.
iRobot is suing for a permanent injunction to prevent Robotic FX from selling the Negotiator, treble damages for all the robots sold--including calculated loss of iRobot profits--and attorney's fees, according to court documents.
The company is also requesting that all Negotiator robots proven to be infringing on the PackBot patents be delivered to iRobot "for destruction."
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