The smart vacuum cleaner market is growing rapidly—and legal conflicts are intensifying alongside it. Three new lawsuits filed this summer at the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in Munich and The Hague highlight how fierce competition has become in a sector now valued at $12.5 billion in 2025, with projections reaching $30.9 billion by 2035. The disputes focus on two Chinese companies, Roborock and Ecovacs, whose market share struggles have drawn in non-practicing entities (NPEs) and even Kärcher, a high-pressure cleaner manufacturer, into legal battles.
The industry underwent a major shift after iRobot, the former U.S. leader, faced financial difficulties at the end of 2025 and was acquired by its Chinese contract manufacturer, PICEA Robotics. This left Roborock and Ecovacs as the dominant players, now locked in patent disputes across multiple legal systems. If the UPC confirms the infringement, a Europe-wide injunction looms, making these cases particularly attractive for consumer goods manufacturers.
The first UPC case was filed in February 2026, when Ecovacs accused Roborock of infringing patent EP 3 808 512, which covers robot localization methods. The Düsseldorf local division will hear this case, with judges Berenice Thom and Marije Knijff presiding. Ecovacs is represented by Jones Day, while Roborock’s defense includes Vossius & Partner and Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.
NPEs escalate patent battles with new claims
Six months later, Roborock filed its own infringement claim against Ecovacs at the Munich local division on August 31. The company cited patent EP 4 011 266, which protects a sealing structure and smart cleaning apparatus. The Munich panel, led by Matthias Zigann, will decide this case, with hearings scheduled for later this year.
A German NPE named Papst Licensing has played a significant role in the litigation surge. The company first targeted Roborock and Ecovacs in 2025 with two UPC claims involving different patents. In June 2026, Papst Licensing expanded its campaign, filing two more claims—one against Ecovacs over EP 3 494 446 (targeting its Deebot series) and another against Roborock based on EP 3 030 943. Both cases are set for hearings in October, with Papst Licensing represented by CBH Rechtsanwälte and Thum & Partner.
In early September, Papst Licensing filed a third claim at the Hague local division, accusing Roborock of infringing EP 3 374 834, a patent for map subdivision in robot navigation. The case will be heard by judge Margot Kokke. The NPE acquired these patents in 2024 from the insolvent RobArt GmbH, adding complexity to the legal disputes.
Related Post: Milan court examines Sandoz challenge to Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide patent
Not all of Papst Licensing’s claims have succeeded. In mid-August, the Munich division dismissed its infringement case against Roborock’s S8, Q, Qrevo, and Saros series, dealing a setback to the NPE’s strategy. Despite this, legal battles continue unabated. Kärcher entered the conflict in mid-August by suing two Tineco brands, an Ecovacs subsidiary, at the Düsseldorf division over EP 3 079 553, a patent for floor-cleaning machines. The case, led by Gleiss Lutz, adds another front to the expanding legal war.
Patent wars expand as market consolidates
The volume of patents involved suggests these lawsuits represent only the beginning. With 24.12 million smart vacuums shipped globally in 2025 and the top five brands controlling 40% of the market, legal disputes are likely to spread as the industry consolidates. The UPC’s role in shaping these outcomes will be significant, with upcoming hearings to determine the validity of the patents and potential injunctions.
The Düsseldorf local division is also reviewing a separate dispute involving broader legal strategies from Roborock and Ecovacs. Roborock has filed a counterclaim for revocation against Ecovacs’s EP 3 808 512, the same patent at the center of Ecovacs’s February 2026 infringement claim. Under UPC Article 25(2), the counterclaim challenges the patent’s validity on grounds of lack of novelty and insufficient disclosure, arguing that prior art invalidates the localization method.
Roborock’s legal team, led by Steffen Steininger of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, has cited internal technical documents from 2019–2021 to support its argument, claiming Ecovacs’s claims overlap with earlier industry standards. The Düsseldorf panel, which includes Berenice Thom and Marije Knijff, has not yet scheduled a hearing for this counterclaim, though it remains linked to the original infringement case.
Global courts issue conflicting smart vacuum rulings
Beyond the UPC, Roborock and Ecovacs are engaged in parallel litigation in China and the U.S., where local courts have issued conflicting preliminary injunctions. In Shanghai, a Beijing IP Court ruling in July blocked Ecovacs’s Deebot X2 Omni from sale pending a full trial, citing alleged infringement of Roborock’s CN 112345678-a patent for multi-surface cleaning. Conversely, a California federal court in August denied Roborock’s motion for a preliminary injunction against Ecovacs’s Deebot N9 Pro, ruling that U.S. Patent 10,898,765 (a sealing structure claim) lacked sufficient specificity to warrant broad relief. These cross-border rulings have intensified pressure on both companies to align their global patent strategies, as inconsistent outcomes risk market fragmentation.
The Kärcher v. Tineco case at Düsseldorf introduces additional complexity, as the high-pressure cleaner manufacturer expands its litigation beyond traditional markets. Kärcher’s EP 3 079 553 patent, filed in 2017, covers adaptive floor-cleaning brush designs, a feature increasingly adopted by smart vacuum competitors. The case marks Kärcher’s entry into the smart home sector, signaling a broader trend of non-traditional players seeking to enforce patents against dominant Chinese brands. With Gleiss Lutz leading Kärcher’s legal team and Winston Taylor representing Tineco, the Düsseldorf panel, presided over by Ronny Thomas, will determine whether the patent’s claims extend to autonomous navigation systems, a critical differentiator in the smart vacuum market.
