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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.

Peloton is claiming Icon’s use of false reference pricing drove consumers away from their product using unfair business practices.

But Icon is not the first competitor Peloton has gone after. Before Icon, it was Echelon, and before that it was Flywheel.

Echelon. In October, 2019, Peloton filed suit again competitor, Echelon. Peloton accused Echelon of “freeriding” off Peloton’s innovative technology rather than developing their own.

This lawsuit followed a poor trading debut, which saw Peloton close down 11% on their first day of trading, Peloton’s CEO, John Foley, expressed disappointment and pointed to “interesting times” in the market. As of this reporting, there are no updates on the case.

Flywheel. In 2018 and again in 2019, Peloton filed suit against Flywheel, claiming their Fly Anywhere bike used parts of their technology that tracks and compares rider performance. Peloton asserted that the Fly Anywhere bike was a copycat version of their own bike.

Flywheel initially denied the allegations and a spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that the case was “a classic example of a big business trying to intimidate a competitor out of the marketplace.”

Flywheel settled out of court in February, 2020, admitted to using elements of Peloton’s patented technology and promised to cease infringement. According to Bicycling, Flywheel also informed its customers they will no longer be offering in-home classes and customers would be eligible to trade in their Flywheel bike for a refurbished Peloton bike. Customers would still need to pay the Peloton subscription fee for access to classes.

Challenging patents

Peloton innovated in the market and then they patented those innovations, which give them certain rights, including the right to exclude others from manufacturing, distributing, or selling an invention. This means that companies who hold patents on valuable technology can prevent competitors from profiting from that technology.