Polaroid Sues GoPro, Says It Ripped Off Cube Camera

Remember GoPro's new Hero4 Session, the action camera that looks strikingly similar to Polaroid's previously launched "Cube" camera? That camera has earned GoPro a lawsuit, with Polaroid's maker C&A Marketing lobbing accusations of patent infringement at GoPro. While C&A Marketing holds a U.S design patent for its Cube camera, GoPro doesn't have a U.S. patent for its Session.

According to the Wall Street Journal, C&A Marketing filed a lawsuit against GoPro in a U.S. District Court yesterday; the suit alleges that GoPro copied Polaroid's own design for which it received a U.S. patent in May. GoPro holds multiple European Union patents for its Session camera, as well as a U.S. patent for the plastic case, and claims they demonstrate GoPro's Session development began before Polaroid's patents were filed.

The issue at play is the similarity between the two cameras: both are cube-shaped, and both feature a single large button on the top for control. Both have rounded edges. The problem is that GoPro is still waiting for the U.S. patent it applied for in 2014, while Polaroid has been issued its own patent.

The Session is a higher-end camera than the Cube, at least as far as specs are concerned, and they're not exactly aimed at the same audience: Polaroid's Cube camera has a "fun" design is more in line with everyday use, while GoPro's Session is the same as its other cameras, targeting the outdoorsy adventurers among us. The Polaroid Cube has been available for about a year, while the Session has been available for a few months.

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal