The US patent dispute between Apple and AliveCor, a supplier of ECG hardware, has been smoldering for years in the procedure goes to explicitly exclude. However, for that to actually happen, AliveCor has yet to win an appeal against Apple, which is currently pending.
Patent dispute for years
AliveCor has been trying to obtain an import ban for the Apple Watch in the United States since spring 2021 with a complaint to the United States International Trade Commission (ITC). Apple’s device is said to infringe at least three of its competitor’s patents in the field of heart rhythm detection. Apple has been selling its Apple Watch with a 1-channel ECG since 2018, which is intended to detect the cardiac arrhythmia atrial fibrillation. AliveCor itself had its own hardware in the form of a bracelet for the Apple Watch on the market since 2016.
AliveCor claims Apple “deliberately copied” its proprietary practices. In addition, the Apple Watch manufacturer is trying to “eliminate” its competitors in the detection of cardiac arrhythmias. However, the patent process, which is now the subject of the White House decision, did not stop there. AliveCor also initiated competition proceedings against Apple. The company was allowed to testify in the trial last spring that Apple’s alleged “total control” of the market for ECG apps on the Apple Watch violates US antitrust laws.
Apple fights back
Apple took action against AliveCor’s lawsuits and sought to have the company’s patents invalidated. This was last achieved in December 2022, when the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) decided as part of its “Trial and Appeal Board” to classify three AliveCor patents as null and void. AliveCor is now taking action against this.
The original lawsuit AliveCors began in 2020. A year later, the ITC was turned on, which could issue a US import ban. AliveCor was originally founded by a well-known Google manager, among others. This, Vic Gundotra, had once publicly argued with Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller. The conflict between Apple and AliveCor and its possible implications are also currently being discussed on Mac & i Pro discussed, the new community for administrators, developers and other Mac professionals.
(bsc)
