Apple loses to AliveCor after a lengthy legal struggle over patent infringement found in the Apple Watch. This was reported recently, adding fears that the decision might not be in favor of Apple on other similarly-natured lawsuits in the past.

AliveCor Favored by International Trade Commission Over Apple Row

AliveCor reported that an International Trade Commission (ITC) administrative law judge delivered the first ruling. AliveCor specializes in personal ECG technology, which the Apple Watch Series 7 models employ.

Following filing a patent infringement complaint against Apple in December 2020, mobile ECG business AliveCor moved its case to the ITC in April 2021. An ITC judge has endorsed AliveCor and urged the International Trade Commission to investigate the dispute. 

The verdict, according to Priya Abani, CEO of AliveCor, is a clear declaration that our intellectual property (IP) rights and patents are still valued. Furthermore, "even a powerful business like Apple cannot simply violate them to hinder innovation" by infringing on intellectual property rights.

Abani went on to say that since then, their attention has been on more than just owning up to their ideas. However, AliveCor stated that its goal was to constantly provide fantastic goods for its clients while offering them appropriate options to check and monitor their heart health. This is also why AliveCor developed devices such as the KardiaBand, the first FDA-approved ECG device attachment for the Apple Watch.

Apple Has Been Battling Multiple Lawsuits From AliveCor Ever Since

If the complete ITC examination concludes that Apple infringes on AliveCor's patents, importation of the Apple Watch into the US may be prohibited. AliveCor claims in their case that Apple willfully duplicated its patented technology in order to eliminate it as a market rival.

The filing of the case advances AliveCor's goal of obtaining redress for Apple's deliberate violation of AliveCor's patent rights. According to AliveCor, this is also to resist Apple's efforts to eliminate AliveCor as a competitor in the heart rate analysis market for the Apple Watch. 

AliveCor also filed an antitrust complaint against Apple in May 2021, and all of its charges revolve around the company's Apple Watch ECG concepts. The business also says in the action that Apple "harmed competition, limited consumer choice, and potentially harmed public health."

AliveCor also filed a complaint against Apple in December, citing identical patent infringements. The lawsuit claims that the features provided in the Apple Watch Series 4 and later infringe on three AliveCor patents. AliveCor claimed restitution for damages to its firm for its attorney expenses and other expenditures related to the litigation, in addition to Apple stopping the alleged infringement. 

AliveCor provides a variety of personal mobile ECG devices. KardiaMobile, the company's flagship product, is a single-lead personal ECG. It introduced the KardiaBand in 2017 as an add-on device for Apple Watch bands, but it discontinued sales immediately after Apple's own ECG capabilities were available.

AliveCor has acquired FDA approval for the KardiaMobile 6L, a six-lead portable ECG that offers cardiologists six alternative perspectives on the electrical activity of the heart. It also developed KardiaCare, a subscription service that provides subscribers access to a suite of services that assist users in interpreting their cardiac data, monitoring risk factors, identifying symptom triggers, and measuring the impact of lifestyle adjustments. 

The business introduced three more cardiac disorders to its product range earlier this year: sinus rhythm with supraventricular ectopy (SVE), sinus rhythm with premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), and sinus rhythm with broad QRS.

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