Samsung’s phones and tablets aren’t the only thing under attack for patent infringement. The BBC reports that vacuum maker Dyson has filed a suit accusing Samsung of using its patented vacuum-steering system in its own Motion Sync vacuum cleaner, announced at IFA earlier this week. “This looks like a cynical rip-off,” said company founder Sir James Dyson. “Samsung has many patent lawyers, so I find it hard not to believe that this is a deliberate or utterly reckless infringement of our patent.”
Dyson sues Samsung for sucking at original design
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Dyson has a history of patent battles with its rivals. It’s periodically gone to court with Hoover, and it won another patent case against Samsung in 2009, when a court ruled that Samsung had infringed on its super-powerful vacuuming mechanism. Now, it’s saying that Samsung is stealing ideas from a 2009 patent on a fast-steering system that would let vacuums swivel easily instead of having to make clumsy turns with the wheels. The Motion Sync indeed touts a system that separates the body from the wheels for faster turns. While Dyson hasn’t said whether it will seek a licensing fee or a full ban on the product, we expect readers will find this latest swivel in the Samsung patent saga as engrossing as anything that came before.
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