Apple receives favorable ruling for lawsuit linked to ECG technology
A recent ruling means that Apple is no longer facing an antitrust lawsuit relating to its heart rate monitoring technology. The suit was brought against the company by AliveCor based on meetings which began in 2015. Now, Federal Judge Jeffrey White has issued a summary judgement in the Northern District of California ruling in favor of Apple; the document is currently under seal for confidentiality.
AliveCor's KardiaBand is an FDA-approved EKG gadget compatible with Apple Watch 1-3 devices. According to the company's complaint, Apple initially showed an interest in partnering on the solution but then released the Apple Watch 4, which features its own ECG technology. AliveCor also claims that Apple prevented the use of third-party heart rate monitoring solutions. Apple denies these assertions.
In a statement issued by an Apple spokesperson, the company welcomed the outcome, saying that "AliveCor's lawsuit challenged Apple's ability to improve important capabilities of the Apple Watch that consumers and developers rely on, and today's outcome confirms that is not anticompetitive." AliveCor has conveyed its disappointment in the decision, saying it would "continue to vigorously protect our intellectual property to benefit our consumers and promote innovation", with plans to appeal the decision. AliveCor is also pursuing multiple patent infringement lawsuits against Apple; the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) recently announced that it would review two relating to the company's ECG technology.
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