Changzhou First International Trade, a Chinese hoverboard manufacturer, had their booth raided at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday for a patent violation on one-wheeled hoverboards.
Two U.S. Marshals approached the booth where Changzhou’s “Trotter” boards were being displayed, when the federal duo packed up one board that was on display along with all promotional material as onlookers observed in astonishment. The marshals were accompanied by six or so atorneys from Future Motion, a Silicon Valley company that said it invented and patented a self-balancing singular-wheeled board that looks very similar to the ones the confiscated by the feds. The marshals confirmed that they served a court order to CTA at CES for the product.
Future Motion first found out about the Changzhou First International Trade’s Trotter late last year, when a Onuser posted about thew one-wheel board online. A listing by the company on Alibaba’s online marketplace promised some 2,000 boards per month for about $500 a piece to retailers, while Future Motion sells the Onewheel for $1,500 through its website.
