Health Tech, Legal

AliveCor seeks ban on import of Apple Watches

The digital health company filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission last week, seeking a ban on the import of the Apple Watch. AliveCor cited copyright violations related to Apple’s ECG feature as the reason for seeking the ban. 

AliveCor is seeking to ban Apple Watch imports, accusing the company of patent infringement related to ECG readings and detecting arrhythmia. AliveCor previously made an ECG band for Apple, but discontinued it after Apple updated its watches with an ECG feature in 2018. Photo credit: AliveCor

After suing Apple for copyright infringement last year, digital health company AliveCor is seeking a ban on Apple Watch imports. In a complaint filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission last week, AliveCor claimed the company had violated three of its patents related to its ECG technology.

Mountain View, Calif.-based AliveCor makes at-home ECG devices that people can use to measure the heart’s electrical activity. It makes small devices that users hold between their fingers for 30 seconds to get a reading.

The company got FDA clearance to use its technology to detect some arrhythmias, including potential cases of atrial fibrillation, bradycardia and tachycardia. More recently, it got clearance for a six-lead version of its ECG device, which would allow it to detect a broader range of heart conditions.

In 2016, the company created a band with a built-in ECG sensor that paired with Apple Watch. But it shelved the device after Apple issued an update adding an ECG feature to its series 4 watch in 2018.

AliveCor accused Apple of trying to eliminate it as a competitor, writing in a Wednesday press release that the filing “is one step, among others, AliveCor is taking to obtain relief for Apple’s intentional copying of AliveCor’s patented technology…”

Last year, the company sued Apple for similar patent infringement claims.

Apple could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

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