EXCLUSIVE

Mark Cuban says he and a business partner OWN the design of the 2-wheeled scooter -- often mischaracterized as a "hoverboard" -- and he's vowing to crush all the knock-off companies.

Cuban says 2 weeks ago he partnered up with Shane Chen, who got a patent in 2014 for what he called a "two-wheel, self-balancing vehicle with independently movable foot placement sections."

Chen included in his patent application a schematic of the vehicle, which has since been duplicated by numerous companies. Chen actually tried to market his design, which he called, "The Hovertrax."

Chen sued one of the alleged knock-off companies -- IO HAWK -- in June, but now with Cuban's firepower, the duo plans to go after all of the copycats.

We've learned Cuban has fired off a bunch of cease and desist letters to the various companies, demanding they stop production ... or else.