Hoverboard had its first claim to fame as a fictional levitation transport device in Back to the Future. In the real world today, the hoverboard has become a popular consumer product that was recently involved in a highly watched US International Trade Commission (USITC) Section 337 investigation. In short, the US claimants initially alleged that 28 companies, including the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, were involved in importing hoverboards that infringed on their patent. In late July, however, the USITC issued its decision declining to bar the allegedly infringing hoverboard imports from the US market.
Our sister publication, Global IP and Privacy Blog, explains the decision and background of the investigation in greater detail in its recent post.
