Fitbit wins patent case from competitor Jawbone

Fitbit has won a US lawsuit from Jawbone in which the latter claimed its patents were infringed. The judge did not agree, allowing Fitbit to continue to sell its products.

Bloomberg was the first to report on the case, which was filed with the International Trade Commission. This American organization can, among other things, impose an import ban, making it more difficult to sell products in the United States. Jawbone had sued because the company believed its patents were being infringed. These included monitoring sleep and activity rhythms.

However, according to the judge, the two patents are invalid. With the patents, Jawbone would namely ‘seek the monopoly on monitoring sleep and collecting other health data’. Also, the patents do not contain new concepts, because the collection of such data has already been carried out by humans in the past. The fact that computer technology is now being used for it is not new enough for a valid patent, the judge said. The company has already said it will appeal the ruling.

The win doesn’t put Fitbit out of its way, though, as the patent dispute was just one of the legal charges. Jawbone also claims that its competitor has stolen sensitive information. Former Jawbone employees were allegedly hired by Fitbit, after which they divulged trade secrets, the indictment says. This case will go to court in Washington on May 9.

Fitbit is a major player in the wearables and fitness tracker market. Earlier this year, the company introduced the Alta, a bracelet with an OLED screen that can measure sleep and fitness data and has a battery life of about five days.