Partner Brad D. Rose, Pryor Cashman Executive Committee Member and Chair of the firm's Intellectual Property Group, joined the conversation about Peloton Interactive's growing legal struggles in a recent New York Post  article.

The decade-old exercise equipment and interactive media company has faced a series of troubles in recent years. During the brunt of the pandemic, Peloton was valued at close to $50 billion, and that valuation is estimated to have dropped to approximately $8 billion this year. The drastic change prompted a closer examination of the company's early years and aggressive patent enforcement against competitors. One such company, Echelon Fitness, denies any wrongdoing or infringement and further alleges Peloton used fraudulent tactics and coercion to silence and acquire the customers of now-bankrupt competitor FlyWheel Sports.

According to the New York Post:

"This is like a soap opera," said Brad Rose, a patent and trademark attorney at Pryor Cashman. "They are claiming that Peloton conspired with FlyWheel to concoct a story of validity to these patents, which is counter to what FlyWheel had been saying for years. That doesn't happen every day."

The allegations could also pose a risk for Peloton as it looks to wrap up any other patent litigation with competitors, Rose added.

"Peloton would lose its patent by the USPTO if someone else with a legal interest in the case could prove that it was fraudulently obtained," Rose said. "If someone believes that patent was obtained by fraud the patent could be invalidated."

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