Apple Watch targeted for patent infringement
Wearable technology company Valencell has sued both Apple and fitness company Fitbit for alleged patent infringement.
In separate lawsuits filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on Monday, January 4, Valencell accused the two companies of infringing four patents directed to sensor technology.
The patents, US numbers 8,923,941; 8,886,269; 8,929,965; and 8,989,830, are all related to monitoring “physiological” movement.
The lawsuit against Apple specifically targets the Apple Watch. According to the complaint Apple was seeking to incorporate a heart sensor into the Apple Watch.
As well as alleging patent infringement, Valencell claimed that Apple downloaded documents from Valencell’s website related to its technology.
The documents, according to the lawsuit, are available to download in “exchange for various identifying information regarding the downloader”.
“On information and belief, Apple repeatedly accepted this offer, but obtained such white papers by providing fictitious information,” the complaint said.
The complaint against Fitbit references the 2014 CES technology show in Las Vegas.
Valencell claimed that Fitbit’s booth was in “close proximity” to its own and that during the show Fitbit executives showed “great interest” in licensing Valencell’s patented technology.
Valencell’s patent portfolio, which it licenses to companies, includes 29 granted patents and there are more than 60 patents pending.
The lawsuit claimed that after the CES show, Fitbit did not respond to Valencell’s follow-up requests regarding a licence.
In the complaint, Valencell claimed that in or around June 2014 Fitbit began “listing various Valencell patent applications in information disclosure statements” that it had filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Valencell is seeking an injunction, a determination of wilful infringement and damages from both companies.
Steven LeBoeuf, president of Valencell, said: “As more and more wearable products powered by Valencell’s award-winning sensor technology are now available in the marketplace … we’ve seen some companies choose to use our patented inventions without pursuing a patent licence.
“We will defend our intellectual property to ensure our current and future licensees get the full value of licensing our inventions as we continue to innovate around our foundational dream of seamless, personalised mobile health and fitness.”
