Bosch Ordered to Stop Sales of REAXX Flesh Detecting Table Saw

Bosch REAXX

Bosch REAXX

The Bosch REAXX Jobsite Table Saw has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride since it was announced in 2015.  SawStop, the first company to market with a table saw that detects flesh and stops the blade, filed a lawsuit against Bosch for patent infringement in mid-2015.  That lawsuit delayed the release of REAXX to 2016, a year after the company planned to release it. The ruling in that case has put another speed bump in the rollout plans for Bosch.

In January of 2017, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in favor of SawStop and effectively halted Bosch from “importing, selling, marketing, advertising, distributing (except for exportation), and soliciting United States agents or distributors for imported table saws,” according to a press release from SawStop.

SawStop’s President, Dr. Stephen Glass applauded the decision, saying “When Bosch chose to introduce the Reaxx saw in disregard of our patents, they left us with no alternative but to take action in court. We have defended our innovation, our hard work, and our investments in developing SawStop technology, and we are pleased that the ITC ordered the exclusion of products that use our patented inventions without a license and confirmed the strength of those patents. We are grateful for the U.S. patent system for encouraging and protecting innovations and we look forward to continuing to supply the market with safer saws.”

While the flesh detecting technology is roughly the same, the mechanism for stopping the blade is much different between the two saws.  SawStop uses a break to stop the blade from moving, which destroys the blade in the process.  The REAXX saw drops the spinning blade into the housing below. 

Bosch, on the other hand, is obviously extremely disappointed in the decision. Although Bosch is not able to sell and market the REAXX saw anymore, the distributors who have already ordered REAXX table saws before the ITC ruling can still sell and market the units they already have. Bosch will also continue to provide service/repair and support for the REAXX table saw and replacement cartridges will still be available, the company said in a press release.

Bosch plans to appeal the ruling in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

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