The Nautilus Group, maker of the Bowflex fitness machine, will appeal a ruling last week that saw its motion for a preliminary injunction against rival fitness equipment maker ICON Health and Fitness, Inc. denied by the United States District Court in Washington.
In addition to the denial of the NLS request to stop ICON from selling its Crossbow product, the court further ruled that Crossbow did not infringe on Nautilus patents.
In explaining the reasoning behind the appeal, NLS said they met the burden of proof required for the injunction.
The case will still go to trial, and Nautilus pointed out that the claims for patent infringement based on the “doctrine of equivalents”, trademark infringement, and unfair competition remain unaffected by the ruling.
The original action was filed on December 3, 2002, asserting infringement of two of The Nautilus Group’s patents relating to the Bowflex exercise machine.
