These guys used to do a fair amount of promoting and I was wondering why they went silent all of a sudden. Checked their website and there’s a note that says Not Available in USA. They haven’t said anything but I’m assuming they got shut down by Lift over patent infringement? Another guy who was selling an Alibaba foil under the name Glide Foil said Lift sent him a legal notice and forced him to stop sales. I didn’t think the patents were being enforced but it sounds like the reality is that they’re being fairly aggressive.
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Here’s Lift’s legal strategy for Patent enforcement in the US (filed against Waydoo Jan 2021 in this specific case…):
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Wonder, what is the different in details so Lift is not going after Fliteboard? Tried to read through the paper but kind of though the see the specific innovation that is actually patented by Lift.
There is a possibility that either a) Lift is only going after the “low hanging fruit” and/or b) Flite is paying them some sort of licensing fee.
From my very cursory/limited understanding some/none of their patents would hold up in court, its just a matter of who has the $/willingness to push back on Lift’s lawyers.
OK, thanks. Those sounds like very likely scenarios. The history of motorized hydrofoils and motorized surfboards is pretty extensive, go back decades, but sure, Lift was probably the first to patent that exact combination. Not sure but it seams like the electric engine on a weight-shift controlled hydrofoil is the core invention in that patent.
This has been discussed before and someone posted all the info. There is documented prior art and Lift never should have been granted the patents they are enforcing.
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Agreed, but I doubt Waydoo has the money to fight them. If the warranty claims don’t kill them this lawsuit probably will, and they’ll be facing direct competition from Foil before it’s over.
Think this is dated years before Lift patent?
From Lift : “2013, our co-founder Nick Leason- an engineer and avid surfer- came up with the idea…” guess looking at Youtube ha ha, good source of inspiration…
Actually, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm should take Lift to court ha ha …
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That’s the prior art I was referencing. Being a research institution they publicly documented and published all kinds of papers too. Then again, crApple was able to patent “slide to unlock” and “rounded corners” on a touch screen device, so… I think the real problem may be our patent system. Anyone should easily be able dispute. In the end, the only people that will win will be the lawyers.
OK. Yes, you are right, there are major flaws in the patent systems, total lack of due diligence by the companies/authorities granting patents in some cases. Pretty sure this video alone would kill any claims in Europe though.
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MSLR is back in 2023 with (?) ‘patents valid in USA and Canada’ :
They offer two ranges, the Opaque range in the 10700usd that looks like a rebranded 2019 CIMI range by opposition to the ‘patented’ MSLED range, a board with led strips on the edge
I think all their boards are made by cimi. I see their masts use lift foils.