iRobot (IRBT) had an eventful December. But before we get to all the details, you need to understand what occurred in the fall of 2007. Back in August, iRobot had sued Robotic FX on patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation. Then the smaller competitor snatched up a military contract from iRobot in September.

Well, iRobot didn't take any of this sitting down. In mid-December, the company was awarded the $286 million contract with the U.S. Army for 3,000 new PackBots, a bomb disarming robot -- the Army backed out of its deal with Robotic FX. iRobot has already delivered more than 1,200 PackBots to the United States military, so this was another big win for the company.

Then only a few short months after iRobot sued Robotic FX, the results of the suit not only came back in iRobot's favor, but the courts actually disbanded Robotic FX on December 21. I've never seen anything like that! This not only takes away one of iRobot's biggest competitors, it also puts the company as one of the go-to names for defense contractors -- any defense contractors and law enforcement agencies that were customers of Robotic FX will now be knocking on iRobot's door.