A self-balancing scooter billed as heralding a revolution in the way people travel could run into an obstacle in Japan, where a robotics professor wants recognition for inventing a nearly identical machine 15 years ago.
The claim comes a little more than a month after U.S. inventor Dean Kamen unveiled the "Segway Human Transporter" and Segway LLC, the company founded to make and sell it, ending a year of speculation and secrecy over the invention that kept the high-tech world in thrall.
"I"m not saying that they took the idea but I want people to know that it existed before the Segway was developed," Kazuo Yamafuji, Professor Emiritus at Tokyo"s University of Electro-Communications, told Reuters.
"I made this machine 15 years ago."
More importantly, Yamafuji applied for a patent for his machine in 1987, which was granted in 1996.
Legal experts say that while it may be difficult for Yamafuji or anyone else to challenge Dean Kamen"s U.S. patent, the award-winning U.S. inventor could run into trouble if Segway decides to sell the scooter in Japan.
With its densely packed cities and enthusiasm for high-tech gadgets, Japan could be an ideal market for Segway"s machine.