Electric skateboard firm ejected from CES after raid

A Chinese firm was turfed out of the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday on suspicion of infringing the intellectual property of Future Motion, a company which makes a one-wheeled electric skateboard.

US Marshals seized a similar product - called the 'surfing electric scooter' - at Changzhou First International Trade Co's CES stand along with promotional materials for the product.

Future Motion is a Californian start-up that developed the Onewheel, a self-balancing, electric skateboard that retails for $1,499 in the US, and called in the Marshals on the grounds that the Trotter infringed its patents.

The US firm has also filed a patent infringement suit against CZ-First, claiming that the Chinese firm's product "blatantly and deliberately copies the look and function of Future Motion's Onewheel product."



"Knocking off an invention that is patented and carefully quality-controlled is a disservice and unsafe to consumers," said Kyle Doerksen, Future Motion's chief executive.

"Future Motion welcomes fair competition, but companies that simply mimic Onewheel without the same technical know-how and safety assurances pose a threat not just to Future Motion, but to consumers and the industry at large," he added.