Jawbone v Fitbit: will fitness trackers be the next IP war?

22-12-2015

Fabio Marino and Luc Dahlin

Jawbone v Fitbit: will fitness trackers be the next IP war?

Maridav / Shutterstock.com

The smartphone wars may have slowed down but many smaller high-tech companies continue to assert their IP rights against competitors, as the fitness tracker battle shows. Fabio Marino and Luc Dahlin of McDermott Will & Emery report.

Jawbone and Fitbit, the two leading providers of wearable fitness trackers, appear to have gone to war over who owns the intellectual property to this rising technology. Each company has asserted IP rights against the other in a multitude of forums.

Does this mean that fitness trackers will be the next battleground in the IP wars? Not likely. It may signal, however, the willingness of smaller technology companies within rapidly emerging niche markets to use their IP aggressively in an effort to maximise their market share.

This article gives a brief overview of the various fronts opened between Jawbone and Fitbit, which both have their headquarters in San Francisco, what is at stake and what this will mean for the fitness trackers industry in the future.


Fabio Marino, Luc Dahlin, McDermott Will & Emery, Activity trackers, patent, Fitbit, Jawbone, fitness, exercise, IP,

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