GoPro is in a tough position at the moment as Polaroid company C&A Marketing just sued the action camera maker over the design of its Hero4 Session Camera.
Apparently, the design is similar to that of the Polaroid Cube, created by C&A Marketing Inc. Consequently, C&A is suing GoPro over patent infringement.
Both cameras are square with round edges, and C&A Marketing's lawsuit alleges that C&A did it first. Furthermore, the company was given the design patent back in May of this year, a move that prevents any other camera from using the same look. However, GoPro filed a patent for the Hero4 Session Camera design back in March, and the company made this clear in a CNBC interview.
The company also went on to state that it has a patent for the design in the European Union, and also mentioned its submitted application for the same design in the United States. One of the submitted applications was filed a day after a similar request was filed for the Polaroid Cube.
It should be pointed out that Polaroid is not involved here since C&A Marketing owns the design. Polaroid's name is just there for brand awareness to help sell the camera.
Despite everything so far, C&A Maketing's patent is very vague since it mostly focuses on the "ornamental design for a cubic action camera, as shown and described" with seven illustrations. Also, the Polaroid Cube is almost two years old, while the Hero4 Session Camera only made its way to market in July of this year.
A federal jury might be forced to make a big decision, one that could affect other camera makers planning to use similar designs.
As for the GoPro Hero4 Session Camera, it is not doing particularly well. GoPro launched the camera at $400 but has since cut the price down to $300 due to poor sales. Time will tell if the price cut will help in the sales department, but the patent infringement suit doesn't bring good news for GoPro.
Photo : Maurizio Pesce | Flickr
