Wearable technology company Fitbit has accused competitor Aliphcom of infringing a number of its patents covering devices that record an individual’s fitness.
In a lawsuit filed on October 29 at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, Fitbit alleged that three of its patents issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office between 2014 and 2015 have been infringed.
Fitbit said Aliphcom is liable for contributing towards and actively inducing infringement of the patents, “with knowledge of or wilful blindness to the existence of the patents”.
At issue are Aliphcom’s fitness products that use a “multi-sensor approach” to record an individual’s physiological data. The products were first developed by BodyMedia, which was acquired by Aliphcom in 2013.
The three patents owned by Fitbit cover a wearable heart rate monitor, a portable monitoring device and a method for activating a fitness device based on an individual’s activity.
Fitbit has asked the court to rule that the case is exceptional and triple any damage award.