The wave pool arms race has officially moved from the water to the courtroom.
American Wave Machines, Inc., the California-based company behind PerfectSwell®, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Canadian water-attractions giant WhiteWater West Industries, Ltd., targeting its Endless Surf wave-generation system.
The complaint was filed September 28 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and centers on two AWM patents — U.S. Patent Nos. 9,279,263 and 8,434,966 — covering aspects of pneumatic, sequenced wave generation. AWM alleges WhiteWater’s Endless Surf system infringes those patents.
At the center of the dispute is a Surf Park in Fellsmere, Florida, currently under construction near Sebastian Inlet. The 10.5-acre project is expected to feature the first Endless Surf lagoon in the United States, utilizing an ES36 system with 36 wave-generating chambers.
Both PerfectSwell and Endless Surf use pneumatic technology — essentially carefully timed bursts of air and water from multiple chambers to create programmable waves — but exactly who owns which pieces of that technological puzzle is now the multimillion-dollar question.
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“Surf venues thrive on originality, authenticity, and significant engineering investment,” AWM President Bruce McFarland said in a statement. “While we welcome the continued growth of the category, that growth must respect the intellectual property rights of those who pioneered this space.”
McFarland said the lawsuit was necessary “to protect our patented technology, the investments behind it, and a fair and lawful marketplace for original inventors.”
WhiteWater isn’t backing down.
In a statement provided to SURFER, Endless Surf said it “firmly rejects” AWM’s infringement allegations and plans to “vigorously defend itself,” arguing that its history in wave-generation technology stretches back more than four decades.
WhiteWater went considerably further, claiming the two asserted patents are invalid and “should never have been granted,” because the underlying concepts were known and used before AWM entered the industry. Those are WhiteWater’s allegations, and the court has not determined the merits of the new case.
“This lawsuit is more of the same from AWM,” WhiteWater said, accusing its rival of increasingly relying on litigation and legal pressure. The company added: “We believe leadership and market share are earned through technological innovation, great people, trusted partnerships, and successful projects — not through the courtroom.”
This isn’t the companies’ first legal collision. WhiteWater challenged several AWM patents beginning in 2022, while related disputes between the companies have also unfolded in Europe. AWM says U.S. Patent Office reviews ultimately upheld three challenged patents in full and most claims of a fourth.
WhiteWater reassured its clients that Endless Surf projects, including the Fellsmere development, will proceed without interruption, maintaining that no single company holds a monopoly on wave-making history.
As legal proceedings unfold, the court’s decision could dramatically alter the intellectual property landscape for future wave pools around the globe.
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