You may never notice, but Peloton and iFit equipment just got hit with an import ban
by Victoria Song from The Verge - All Posts on (#69MNF)
Peloton says it isn't too concerned about the ITC ban. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Connected fitness giants Peloton and iFit are facing an import ban on their fitness equipment. The ban was announced today by the US International Trade Commission after a trade judge ruled that the two companies infringed on Dish's streaming patents. While it's hard to have connected fitness without streaming, this also isn't Peloton or iFit's first patent showdown.
Dish and its subsidiary Sling TV initially sued Peloton, iFit, and Lululemon in 2021. The four patents in question stem from Dish's Hopper set-top box and relate to how the device adjusts the bitrate of a stream in real time to improve video quality. The ITC complaint was separately filed at the same time, seeking a ban on Peloton and iFit's NordicTrack equipment, as well as...