In a recent legal battle, US District Judge Jeffrey White ruled in favor of Apple and against AliveCor in a lawsuit regarding the development of smartwatch technology for detecting irregular heartbeat. The Silicon Valley startup, AliveCor, accused Apple of illegally monopolizing the U.S. market for heart rate monitoring apps for its Apple Watch and violating federal Sherman antitrust law and a California unfair competition law.
Apple successfully convinced the federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, although the decision explaining White’s reasoning is being kept under seal at the moment due to confidentiality concerns. “AliveCor is deeply disappointed and strongly disagrees with the court’s decision to dismiss our anti-competition case and we plan to appeal,” stated the Silicon Valley startup.
On the other hand, Apple expressed that the lawsuit challenged its ability to make improvements to the Apple Watch that consumers and developers rely on. “Today’s outcome confirms that it is not anti-competitive,” said the tech giant.
The complaint from AliveCor also accused Apple of “updating” the heart rate algorithm for its watches to prevent third parties from identifying irregular heartbeats and offering competing apps. AliveCor had developed KardiaBand, a wristband for the Apple Watch capable of recording an electrocardiogram, or ECG. Apple has denied any wrongdoing.
It’s important to note that AliveCor is still battling with Apple on separate patent infringement claims.
The legal dispute between these two technology companies has attracted significant attention within the telecommunications industry. This ruling could have long-lasting implications for future smartwatch technology development and competition within this sector. Stay tuned as this story continues to unfold!
