SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On August 6, 2020, Body Fit Training PTY LTD, in cooperation with Body Fit Training USA, Inc. (collectively, “BFT”) and World Class Functional Training, LLC, filed suit in the United States District Court, Central District of California against F45 Training PTY LTD and its El Segundo-based parent, F45 Training Holdings, Inc., seeking a Declaratory Judgment that two U.S. patents owned by F45 are both invalid and not infringed by BFT. BFT, through World Class Functional Training, operates a franchise in the Los Angeles area. F45 has multiple franchises in the Los Angeles area.
Four weeks later, on September 4, 2020, F45 filed a retaliatory lawsuit in Delaware asserting that BFT infringes one of its patents. Neither BFT nor F45 have any franchises in Delaware, but BFT is incorporated there.
These lawsuits are part of an ongoing global dispute between BFT and F45 over the technology and business strategy of their respective fitness companies. According to documents recently filed with the Securities Exchange Commission, F45 is in the process of being acquired by Crescent Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company formed by Crescent Capital Group LP to effect the transaction. Crescent Capital Group LP, founded in 1991, is a global investment manager with approximately $28 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2020.
In a statement, BFT’s Joint CEO’s Cameron Falloon and Richard Burnet, stated that “The U.S. lawsuit we filed is part of BFT’s global strategy to defeat F45’s improper efforts to assert invalid patents to try and hinder our ability, and the ability of our franchisees, to advance what we believe to be a superior business model and approach to fitness training. We believe we have the upper hand in similar litigation in Australia. As a result, we are confident that, whether the U.S. litigation moves forward in California or Delaware, we will ultimately prevail in both the courts and in the global marketplace. We see the United States as an important next step in our global expansion and even though we are a much smaller company, we do not intend to let F45 or any competitor push us out of the marketplace. We remain committed to supporting our dedicated franchisees throughout the world as they continue to build and grow successful businesses and look forward to quickly expanding our presence in the U.S. as well-informed American gym-goers enjoy their experiences in our facilities and recognize our ‘Different, Better’ approach to fitness.”
Body Fit Training PTY LTD is the fastest-growing fitness franchise in Australia, with over 150 franchises sold across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the U.S since April 2018. With a unique combination of proper strength training together with awesome cardio workouts, BFT’s science-backed and results-based model is uniquely positioned to continue its rapid expansion into the US and throughout the globe. Its flagship Santa Monica studio opened in November 2019 and is thriving despite COVID-19, and plans are underway for more BFT studios to open in the U.S. prior to year-end.