It's been a few minutes since GoPro filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission against Insta360's parent company, Arashi Vision. So, in case you don't recall off the top of your head, the allegations that GoPro made were basically that Arashi Vision had infringed on multiple patents that GoPro holds.
Furthermore, it was seeking relief from the ITC in the form of requiring Insta360 to get slapped with a cease-and-desist order, effectively banning the cameras and accessories it claimed as infringing products from being imported and sold in the US.
On this front, so far, GoPro has not succeeded.
It took until July 2025 for the ITC to issue an initial determination, but it's finally come to some conclusions. Both GoPro and Insta360 immediately issued press releases about the decision, each seeking to portray themselves as the primary winner of this battle. And truly, they're not wrong; while there's a certain amount of spin to be seen, the ITC's decision is mixed, with a little something for GoPro and a little something for Insta360, as well.
So What Does It Say?
Reading the actual decision reveals that the Administrative Law Judge assigned to this case found some patents have been infringed, while others have not. Crucially, though, this initial determination also establishes that certain patent claims that GoPro made have been shown to be invalid. Some are valid, as well, but not all. Or even most of them.
If we're doing simple math here, some of GoPro's patent defense claims have been validated, while others haven't. The ITC determined that a total of 7 of GoPro's patent claims were found to have been infringed, while 5 were not. However, patent validity is also an issue here; and on that score, a total of 8 of GoPro's patent claims were found to be invalid, while only 4 were declared to be valid.
That's twice as many patent claims invalidated as those that were validated.
Those numbers aren't super meaningful without knowing what they pertain to, though, so let's get into that next.
Where the ITC Found in GoPro's Favor
According to the ITC's initial determination, Insta360 infringed on GoPro's HERO camera design.
Where the ITC Found in Insta360's Favor
According to the ITC's initial determination, the patents that GoPro had asserted regarding technology (also called "utility patents,") were either found to not have been infringed upon, or to be invalid. In plain language, these patents relate to everything that you or I or anyone else using an action camera would want a good action camera to do in 2025: Offer things like horizon leveling, stabilization, aspect ratio conversion, and distortion correction.
It's not over yet; a final determination has yet to be reached, and is expected to be issued in November 2025. However, that seems like a pretty big deal, and mostly one in Insta360's favor so far. Infringement on a design patent is one thing; you can alter form factors to mitigate that issue.
However, finding that the tech patents either haven't been infringed or are invalid seems pretty significant. That's the brains and guts of an action camera, and is primarily why a user might choose one action camera over another. Form factor matters, of course, but the first thing you're probably looking at is their features and implementation, right?
In their official statement on the matter, Insta360 founder JK Liu said, "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."
Now, obviously, both companies engaged in this battle are companies. They're not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts; they want to sell their products and make money. But at the same time, the game of stifling innovation by fighting court battles because you think you've got the bigger bank account to drag litigation out as long as possible is a time-honored American tradition. That's across industries, too.
Who ends up losing in this equation, all too often? The customers.
And the worst part is, they may not even realize it. Often, this stuff drags on so long that everyone with a regular job and a life, and who doesn't have time to pay attention to every little development, simply loses track of what's happening. Why wouldn't you? You have more pressing daily matters to worry about than the action camera you only drag out every once in a while.
In any case, no matter how the ITC's Final Determination plays out, we'll be sure to keep an eye on it and break it down for you here at RideApart. For the time being, Insta360 says its products will continue to be sold without restrictions in the US. Will that change? We're not legal experts, but the fact that the tech itself has so far been cleared of infringement seems like an optimistic development.
