Developments in Patent Disputes Between Apple and Alivecor

Written by: Douglas B. Wentzel

Earlier this year, AliveCor, Inc., a medical device and AI company producing electrocardiogram (ECG) hardware and software for consumer mobile devices, succeeded in convincing an International Trade Commission (ITC) judge that Apple Inc. infringed multiple, valid claims of three AliveCor patents on ECG technology.  By December 12, 2022, the full ITC is expected to issue a final decision in that investigation (337-TA-1266).

With the final ITC decision just days away, Apple filed suit against AliveCor, Inc. in the Northern District of California on December 2.  Apple alleges that the ECG functionality of several AliveCor products, including KardiaMobile, KardiaMobile 6L (pictured below), KardioMobile Card, and the related Kardia App, infringe one or two Apple patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 10,076,257 and 10,866,619.  Apple also alleges that AliveCor’s KardiaPro service and Kardia App, in conjunction with various Kardia devices, infringe one or two additional patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 10,270,898 (titled “Wellness Aggregator”) and 10,568,533 (titled “User Interfaces for Health Monitoring”).

 

Less than a week after Apple filed suit, a panel of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) administrative judges found that the three AliveCor patents asserted in the ITC investigation were invalid.  According to Law360, an AliveCor spokesperson explained AliveCor is “deeply disappointed and strongly disagrees with the decision by the PTAB and will appeal.”  Regarding whether the PTAB’s findings should impact the ITC’s decision, the AliveCor’s spokesperson added: