iRobot granted injunction in lawsuit
Shares of iRobot Corp. (Nasdaq: IRBT) are popping today after the robot maker said it was granted in part a request for preliminary injunction in a lawsuit against former employee Jameel Ahed and his company, Robotic FX, Inc.
The outcome prohibits use of critical features incorporated in the design of a knock-off version of iRobot’s “PackBot” robot.
While the precise terms of the order were issued under seal because they specify the trade secrets not to be infringed, iRobot stated in a press release that U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner found that iRobot is likely to succeed in its claim that Ahed “misappropriated iRobot’s trade secrets and used such trade secrets in the development of Robotic FX’s robot tracks.”
Adding to positive news surrounding iRobot, the company said it will join forces with multi-national defense technology company, Metal Storm Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTSX), to pursue opportunities within Global Defense and Security sectors.
Together the companies plan to combine robot platforms with scalable force response and increase mission capability to trounce improvised explosive devices used in warfare.
Shares of iRobot (IRBT) gained 12.05% or $2.03 to $18.87 at 12:35 p.m. ET. Shares of iRobot have been trading in the range of $12.76 to $24.30 for the past 52 weeks.
