Sue Decker

Roomba maker IRobot Corp. came closer to its goal of knocking down cheaper rival SharkNinja after winning a  decision in its patent-infringement case at the International Trade Commission (ITC/Commission), though it wasn’t a clear victory. ITC Judge MaryJoan McNamara said SharkNinja infringed two of four asserted iRobot patents, according to a notice posted last week on the agency’s electronic docket. The judge’s full findings won’t be public for a couple of weeks, to enable both sides to redact confidential business information.