Philips says Fitbit ‘ignored’ licensing offers

The North American arm of Philips has accused wearable fitness tracker maker Fitbit of patent infringement.

In a complaint filed yesterday, July 22, at the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Philips alleged that Fitbit did not develop its own technology, and that it released its first product without filing a single patent application.

According to Philips, a number of Fitbit activity trackers infringe four of its patents (US numbers 6,013,007; 7,088,233; 8,277,377; and 6,976,958), which cover technology related to GPS and audio athletic training, connected wearable and online products and security mechanisms for transmission of personal data.

It said these patents cover the technology used in its own family of wearable activity trackers, the Actiwatch.

Philips said that its patented technology has also been licensed to healthcare companies in the making of heart rate monitoring technology.

“Philips has repeatedly offered to license rights in the patents-in-suit to Fitbit, but Fitbit has repeatedly refused to accept Philips’ offers,” the filing alleged, adding that Fitbit “takes the significant benefits of Philips’ patented technologies” without paying compensation.

Philips said it has contacted Fitbit multiple times concerning its alleged infringement since October 2016, but Fitbit has failed to provide any response.

In its complaint, Philips asked Fitbit for monetary damages for the last six years. It also asked the court for a declaration that its patents had been infringed and an injunction blocking future infringement.