ITC determines infringement of GoPro’s HERO camera design by Insta360

GoPro, Inc. announced that a United States Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of the International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, D.C. issued an Initial Determination, finding that rival Insta360 violated federal law by importing and selling in the United States products infringing on GoPro intellectual property covering GoPro’s iconic HERO camera design.

GoPro said the ALJ’s findings that Insta360 infringed on a patent covering GoPro’s iconic HERO camera design (US Patent D789,435), as well as its validation of multiple patent claims covering GoPro’s industry-leading HyperSmooth video stabilization (US Patent 10,574,894 and 10,958,840).

In addition, GoPro intends to brief other outstanding issues in its infringement case against Insta360 with the full commission, the company said. The ITC is expected to issue its Final Determination on all of GoPro’s infringement claims against Insta360 by Nov. 10, 2025.

“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.”

According to a report in Engadget, though, Insta360 doesn’t view this as the slamdunk GoPro is presenting it as:

When asked to comment on the ITC determination notice, Insta360 didn’t portray the ruling as a GoPro victory, though. If anything, the company’s statement makes it seem like the opposite. Insta360’s press release says that the ITC “rejected GoPro’s utility patent claims against Insta360.” According to the company, the judge determined that utility patents “relating to stabilization, horizon leveling, distortion, and aspect ratio conversion are invalid, not infringed, or both.” Only GoPro’s design patent was infringed and valid, and Insta360 says it’s implemented design updates to address it.

“The U.S. International Trade Commission’s initial determination affirms what many in our industry already know: the future belongs to innovators, not litigators,” said JK Liu, founder of Insta360. “While GoPro sought to block competition by asserting a wide array of patents, the majority of those claims were either found not to be infringed or ruled invalid. That speaks volumes.

“This isn’t just about Insta360. This is about an ecosystem where established players use litigation as a business strategy, hoping to stall faster, smarter, more agile challengers. It’s a familiar playbook: instead of building better products, they try to slow down those who do. We will continue to stand up for our products, our team, and the creative community we serve – and we will not be deterred by legal maneuvering aimed at protecting market share rather than consumers.”