Mad Dogg Athletics, the company which created the Spinning bikes, has sued Peloton Interactive for patent infringement.
A suit, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleges that Peloton’s Bike and Bike+ infringe US Patent Numbers 9,694,240 and 10,137,328 – both which are directed to core features of an exercise bike designed to "bring the experience of an instructor-led class into the rider’s home".
John Baudhuin, co-founder and CEO of Mad Dogg Athletics said: “We revolutionised the indoor cycling category in 2008 with the eSpinner bike which featured the world’s first touch-screen display designed to bring instructor-led coaching and power training straight to the rider’s home.
"Peloton has built its business by freeriding on Mad Dogg’s patent-protected innovations.
"Peloton cannot compete in the category that Mad Dogg created by trampling on Mad Dogg’s rights.”
Mad Dogg Athletics' other brands include Peak Pilates, CrossCore, Ugi, Resist-A-Ball and Spin Fitness.
The suit comes a year after Peloton settled a separate lawsuit against indoor cycling brand Flywheel.
Peloton brought a case against Flywheel in 2018, in which it alleged that Flywheel had copied aspects of Peloton's technology to stream live and on-demand classes, as well as to track riders' performances.
In February 2020, Jeffery Naumowitz, Flywheel's chief financial officer, admitted in a statement filed at the United States District Court in Texas that Peloton's complaint was "valid".
Flywheel shut down its Flywheel At Home service on 27 March this year (2020).
