As an Arctic Cat owner I have mixed feelings about the news today. A long court battle has been settle, in which BRP (Ski Doo) claims that Arctic Cat infringed on their patent for their pyramid frame design. The one that changed the industry in 2002 with the Rev chassis. And the one that Cat riders fell in love with on the Procross/Proclimb models. The judge ruled in favour of BRP.
There are a lot of unknowns at this point. Where will the trail lead Arctic Cat. What we do know at this point is that Arctic Cat has been ordered to pay BRP $2.8 million and to stop sales of Arctic Cat sleds with that frame (which is pretty much everyone) in Canada. Read the press release here.
So this information is still very fresh and I’m sure Arctic Cat will not go down without a fight. We are left with so many questions. Is this the beginning of the end of Arctic Cat? How will Arctic Cat recover for this on top of the economic struggles that Covid-19 is and will present? What does this mean for Arctic Cat outside of Canada? What does this mean for current Arctic Cat owners? And what does this mean for Yamaha? I’m sure we will get some answers soon. All we really want is the best for the snowmobile industry. And you would think having Arctic Cat part of that would only make it better. Check back for more as this story unfolds
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