Other brands also entered the market with their own versions of internet connected bikes and treadmills, including Echelon, Equinox, the parent of SoulCycle, and Flywheel. Flywheel went so far as to challenge one of Peloton’s patents, contending that sending a recorded cycling class to in-home stationary bikes did not contain any new ideas.

Peloton sues for IP infringement

NordicTrack. In it’s most recent litigious move against competitors, Peloton has filed suit against Icon Health & Fitness Inc., makers of NordicTrack. This suit accuses Icon of copying its interactive home-based fitness programs, including its leaderboard, and of engaging in false advertising and unfair business practices.

The suit claims Icon’s iFit leaderboard “was nothing more than the Peloton leaderboard grafted onto an iFit interface.” Peloton also alleges Icon mimicked its live classes in their rollout of similar offerings.

The complaint also details advertising tactics used by Icon known as false reference pricing. The practice includes representing a false and inflated “original” price for a product and then offering the product to consumers at a much more attractive “sale” price. The consumer thinks they’re getting a good deal when the product was never actually sold at the more expensive “original” price to begin with.