fbcregan Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Are there any options for getting a Gotway in the US? I haven't been able to find any avenues for ordering one here. I'm not looking to buy right now, but when it's time for a new wheel, the Gotway 18 Msuper looks awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 You could check here, I don't know of any shops in the US which would sell Gotways, but you can always order abroad:And if you happen to find a US shop that sells such (or is otherwise missing from the list), please tell me so I can add them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GQS Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Inventist still holds the patent for electric unicycles in the USA. Most USA EUc (non-Solowheel) vendors receive a cease and desist letter from them shortly after opening. Threat of lawsuit is probably a reason why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc415 Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Inventist still holds the patent for electric unicycles in the USA. Most USA EUc (non-Solowheel) vendors receive a cease and desist letter from them shortly after opening. Threat of lawsuit is probably a reason why.you're probably right - wonder how Ninebot One resellers are able to avoid that? you'd think that they'd face the same situation no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 you're probably right - wonder how Ninebot One resellers are able to avoid that? you'd think that they'd face the same situation no?Might have to do with Ninebot owning Segway, and Segway has patents on self-balancing devices... I recall reading a rumor somewhere, that the former owners of Segway and Inventist had some sort of a "gentlemens' agreement" that Segway wouldn't sue Inventist, but it probably no longer holds with Ninebot as the current owner. But this is just speculation, and I don't know if even the agreement between previous Segway-owners & Inventist was a real thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 More like "mutually assured destruction" since it seems likely that Segway (now Ninebot) has patents that Inventist is infringing; Segway was first by about a decade. The reverse may be true as well, Ninebot may be infringing on Inventist patents, but neither side is likely to win by stirring up a big legal battle. Given that the American market is almost empty right now, the two are probably better off by calling a truce, selling a lot of units, and fighting imports of the other brands that might try to get in. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donafello Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 If you search the recent posts there is a seller shipping gotways from USA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieV Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Might have to do with Ninebot owning Segway, and Segway has patents on self-balancing devices... I recall reading a rumor somewhere, that the former owners of Segway and Inventist had some sort of a "gentlemens' agreement" that Segway wouldn't sue Inventist, but it probably no longer holds with Ninebot as the current owner. But this is just speculation, and I don't know if even the agreement between previous Segway-owners & Inventist was a real thing.Found this LA Times article...http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83654870/...that was publised at the end of May of this year. It says that Ninebot offered $5 million for a majority stake in Inventist but Mr. Chen (owner of Inventist and inventor of the Solowheel) turned them down. Afterwards:"They're not like regular businesspeople — they're like gangsters," he said. "They said, 'We're just going to get around you anyway.' They threatened me. It's a different way to talk business. It was kind of scary to work with them."Two months later, Ninebot unveiled its own self-balancing electric unicycle: a shiny white disc called the Ninebot One.In an interview, Ninebot Chief Executive Gao Lufeng denied all allegations of intellectual property theft. He then accused Chen of using Segway's intellectual property — its gyroscopic self-balancing technology — to develop the Solowheel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blechi Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 IMHO just another case of the ridiculous US patent/IP/copyright system biting the customer.A company with somewhat outdated products and no chance of handling a market like the US concentrates on fighting competitors instead of at least developing and selling better products that meet the costumers' expectations let alone (god forbid) opening the market for other products.There is something fundamentally wrong with a system that makes it possible to patent a swing in the year 2002 (US 6368227 B1), allowing it to patent genes or sueing people for infringing the copyright on the 'happy birthday' song (at least here is some movement according to this).Sadly other countries are adopting this kind of shit in one or another way.[/rant]Sorry for the rant. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason McNeil Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 The Segway patents have expired: the priority date was 1993 & had a validity of 20 years, until 2013. Shane's patent claim is tenuous at best, he was not first to invent or first to file with the USPTO. Furthermore, the electronics & mechanical aspects of the Solowheel were engineered by Focus Designs http://focusdesigns.com/about/:"You’ve probably heard of the Solowheel. We’re proud to take credit for the electronics design as well as a few mechanical features. We partner closely with Inventist and are excited about a few upcoming projects as well. The partnership between Focus Designs and Inventist is a perfect example of our collaborative capabilities."https://patents.google.com/patent/US20030205419A1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vylour Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 If you're asking: Where can I buy Gotway products in the US? Check out ewheels.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Hillary Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 6 hours ago, Vylour said: If you're asking: Where can I buy Gotway products in the US? Check out ewheels.com He was asking. 5 YEARS AGO. Pretty sure he knows now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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