According to a press release from GoPro, a United States Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of the International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, D.C., released an Initial Determination. This Initial Determination finds that Insta360 violated federal law by importing and selling in the United States products that infringe GoPro’s intellectual property related to the HERO camera design.
“GoPro welcomes fair competition as it drives us to innovate, but we will litigate to protect our IP when we believe it is being infringed,” said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s founder and CEO. “We have been an American innovator and market leader for twenty-three years, and we will not sit idle while we believe others unjustly take advantage of our hard work, investment and innovation.”
A little background on the case
In May, GoPro filed a complaint that claimed Insta360 violated multiple patents. According to Reuters, GoPro said Insta360 infringed on GoPro’s “novel and proprietary SuperView, virtual lens, HyperSmooth, and Horizon Leveling technology” used in its HERO and MAX lines.
In the complaint, GoPro requested an investigation. In the case that the ALJ found that Insta360 did violate its patents, GoPro then requested a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders against Insta360.
What does this mean?
While this is a major step in the investigation, it remains an Initial Determination. This means that the ruling isn’t yet final. So, the ALJ will continue to review the findings and will make a Final Determination by Nov. 10, 2025. It is possible for the ALJ to overturn its Initial Determination.
However, if the ALJ does finalize the findings, it is possible for the ALJ to prevent Insta360 from selling its products. There are a few parts here: First, if the ALJ upholds that Insta360 engaged in design infringement, this would only prevent it from selling the Ace Pro series. For the HyperSmooth video stabilization infringement, which likely refers to Insta360’s FlowState digital stabilization tech, this would affect more of the company’s product library and result in all of its products being pulled from shelves. While that future isn’t set in stone, it’s one of the various possibilities.
We’ll keep you up to date on new information on this story as it comes out.
