FitBit, Philips patent fight escalates with new lawsuit

FitBit has hit back at  Philips, which is currently suing the wearable health technology company, with patent infringement claims of its own.

The move marks an escalation of a patent dispute that Philips claims dates back more than three years.

The  US International Trade Commission (ITC) is currently investigating FitBit following a complaint of patent infringement from the Dutch-headquartered conglomerate, which also filed a lawsuit in US federal court.

FitBit has now responded with a lawsuit of its own, filed yesterday, April 8 at the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

According to FitBit, the Philips Lifeline system, a medical alert product, infringes three of the San Francisco tech company’s patents.

Philips Lifeline works using wearable devices such as the GoSafe, which are equipped with sensors and can detect events such as falls.

FitBit claimed that key components of the GoSafe technology, including data generated by multiple sensors and automatic emergency detection, are covered by the San Francisco patents.

The company said Philips either knew of, or was “willfully blind” to the infringement of its patents.

In its own complaint at the ITC, Philips said FitBit’s own wearable tracking devices infringed four patents, each relating to activity monitors.

It alleged in a lawsuit filed last July that FitBit had  “ignored” licensing offers before releasing the allegedly infringing wearable devices.

Efforts to reach a licensing agreement had gone for almost three years, Philips claimed.

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