A recent Section 337 investigation application filed with the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) marks the start of a “patent war” concerning robotic vacuum cleaners that is expected to affect the industry worldwide, industrial insiders said. Leading manufacturer of consumer robots iRobot, headquartered in the U.S., filed the complaint against 11 rivals – including three from the Chinese mainland – in April, claiming they had infringed its six patents and requesting the Commission to issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders. As the largest robotic vacuum cleaner provider in the U.S., iRobot has roughly 300 U.S. patents and more than 900 worldwide patents. The patents include technologies for obstacle detection, autonomous floor cleaning and remote control scheduling for autonomous robotic devices. “We encourage the Chinese companies to actively respond to the investigation,” Zhou Nan, Secretary General of the Consumer Electronics Branch at the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products said. “Otherwise, they might be prevented from entering the U.S., a huge market with enormous potential.” The three Chinese companies are Shenzhen Ilife Technology, Shenzhen Silver Star Intelligent Appliances and Suzhou Realpower Electrical Appliance. According to the company, iRobot has captured approximately 60% of the global robot vacuum cleaner market and generated USD660 million in business revenue last year. Yet its market leadership is challenged in China, where domestic manufacturer Ecovacs has held the No 1 position in recent years, with a market share of nearly 70%. To date, Ecovacs has filed more than 1,000 patent applications, including 120 international filings via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the China Daily reports.