Peloton sues fitness rivals Echelon and iFit Health, accusing them of copying its tech

• Peloton is suing rivals Echelon Fitness and iFit Health & Fitness. 
• It said lawsuits that the two companies violated patents related to Peloton’s at-home classes. 
• Both companies tried to get a “free ride” off Peloton’s “innovative technology,” it said.

Peloton has hit fitness rivals Echelon Fitness and NordicTrack maker iFit Health with new lawsuits for allegedly copying its home-workout tech.

The new complaints, filed in Delaware district court on Monday, escalate existing patent disputes brought by Peloton against the companies over related technology.

Peloton, known for its exercise bikes with live-streaming and on-demand group workouts, said Echelon’s bikes, treadmills, and rowing machines infringe a patent covering a “control station,” which is related to a leaderboard that helps users compare their performance during live classes.

Peloton received the patent last week.

The company’s complaint against iFit said iFit’s bikes, treadmills, ellipticals, and other machines infringe four patents — including the new patent — that cover the same leaderboard function and other technology, such as the ability to automatically adjust workouts based on performance.

Peloton said in the suits that both companies had attempted to “free ride” off Peloton’s “innovative technology.”

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

Echelon and iFit didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Peloton’s popularity skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, its growth has slowed in recent quarters as the high-tech home fitness workout market becomes more competitive. Moreover, as life begins to return to normal more consumers are returning to gyms and fitness studios.

Sales of its connected fitness products – its high-tech treadmill and bike – fell by 17% during the most recent quarter. Peloton also saw its smallest quarterly gain in connected fitness subscriber growth since the company went public in September 2019.

But the company is confident that the consumer shift to at-home fitness services is still in its infancy and that there is plenty more room for growth.

“This trend was well-underway prior to the pandemic, and has clearly been accelerated by the growing awareness and adoption of connected fitness,” Peloton said in a statement earlier this month.

Peloton has also been involved in patent disputes with Flywheel Sports Inc and Mad Dogg Athletics Inc, in addition to a fight over Mad Dogg’s trademarks for the words “Spin” and “Spinning.”