Since the first series was released in 2015, the Apple Watch has been gradually gaining more useful features. One of those upgrades, in particular, could see recent models banned from sale in the US, but despite the headlines, it’s too early to write an obituary for the Apple Watch.
The issue stems from a patent battle over smartwatch electrocardiogram (ECG) technology. California-based medical device company AliveCor has accused Apple of violating its patents by including ECG functionality. Its case has just been raised, but the ban has yet to come.
In 2017, AliveCor launched the KardiaBand, an FDA-approved wristband accessory that attaches to the Apple Watch to measure heart rate. However, just a year later, Apple made that product redundant by obtaining regulatory approval for its own built-in ECG tool, which launched with the Apple Watch Series 4.
AliveCor pulled the KardiaBand from the market shortly after, but in 2021 it filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC), arguing that Apple infringed its patents. Last month, the ITC sided with AliveCor and ruled that Apple Watch ECGs should be banned from importing into the United States. This has become a possibility as U.S. President Joe Biden has decided not to veto any potential import ban.
However, a ban cannot yet be enacted. That’s because the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has independently ruled (Opens in a new tab) that AliveCor’s invention is unpatentable and should never have been granted in the first place. It concluded in December that someone with “ordinary skill” in the field of heart monitoring technology could have independently derived the same invention. AliveCor appealed the decision.
Priya Abani, the company’s chief executive, welcomed the Biden administration’s decision not to overrule the ITC ruling, saying it “goes beyond AliveCor and sends a clear message to innovators that the U.S. will protect patents. However, her company needs to win an appeal of the USPTO decision at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit before it can enforce the Apple Watch import ban. While this could happen, it seems unlikely.
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