Disclaimer: We may earn a commission if you make any purchase by clicking our links. Please see our detailed guide here.

Follow us on:

Google News
Whatsapp

Apple Watch May Face Patent Infringement Lawsuit on Heart Rate Sensor Technology

IANS
IANS
Meet the voice behind Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), a storyteller navigating the currents of global events with precision and depth. Crafting narratives that bridge cultures, IANS brings you the pulse of the world in every word

Join the Opinion Leaders Network

Join the Techgenyz Opinion Leaders Network today and become part of a vibrant community of change-makers. Together, we can create a brighter future by shaping opinions, driving conversations, and transforming ideas into reality.

Tech giant Apple must face a patent infringement lawsuit alleging that it cribbed heart rate sensor technology for the Apple Watch, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled.

The original lawsuit, lodged against Apple in 2018, alleged that the Apple Watch’s heart rate measurement technology infringed on multiple patents owned by Omni MedSci Inc.

Apple moved to dismiss the lawsuit, only to be denied by a US District Court.

Apple appealed that decision, which brought the case to the Federal Circuit.

On Monday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision, ruling that Apple must face the patent infringement lawsuit, reports AppleInsider.

The patents list University of Michigan professor Mohammed Islam as their inventor. Islam later assigned the patent rights to Omni MedSci.

Apple’s argument was that the patents actually belonged to the university since Islam’s employment agreement stipulated that any patents would belong to the university if they were obtained through activity is supported.

The federal circuit disagreed, stating that the employment agreement didn’t automatically transfer rights to intellectual property to the university. Instead, the court decided that the agreement is, at most, “a statement of a future intention to assign the patents at issue.”

“It did not effectuate a present automatic assignment to a title to UM and thus did not negate Dr. Islam’s assignment of the inventions to Omni,” the court’s decision reads.

“Accordingly, the district court’s denial of Apple’s motion to dismiss for lack of standing is affirmed,” it added.

According to the original 2018 lawsuit, Islam met with Apple executives to discuss the medical patent applications ahead of Apple Watch’s launch. The complaint alleged that Apple took ideas from those meetings and incorporated them into the heart rate sensor of the Apple Watch.

In the lawsuit, Islam seeks damages for infringement and an injunction against products that infringed on the patents-in-suit.

Join 10,000+ Fellow Readers

Get Techgenyz’s roundup delivered to your inbox curated with the most important for you that keeps you updated about the future tech, mobile, space, gaming, business and more.

Recomended

Partner With Us

Digital advertising offers a way for your business to reach out and make much-needed connections with your audience in a meaningful way. Advertising on Techgenyz will help you build brand awareness, increase website traffic, generate qualified leads, and grow your business.

Power Your Business

Solutions you need to super charge your business and drive growth

More from this topic