Michal Marek Smart bracelet maker Jawbone is suing rival Fitbit. The management of Jawbone does not like the use of its patents related to "wearable" technologies. For Fitbit, the world's largest maker of fitness trackers, this is obviously bad news. But if Jawbone wins the lawsuit, Fitbit won't be the only one with a big problem. The ruling could have a heavy impact on all manufacturers of so-called "wearables", including Apple now.
The lawsuit against Fitbit was filed last week and concerns the misuse of patented technologies used to collect and interpret data related to the user's health and sports activity. However, Fitbit is certainly not the only one using Jawbone's patents cited in the lawsuit. For example, the patents include using "one or more sensors located in a wearable computing device" and setting "specific goals" that are "based on one or more health-related activities," such as daily step goals.
Something like this certainly sounds familiar to all owners of Apple Watch, watches with the Android Wear operating system or smart sports watches from the American company Garmin. All of them can, to varying degrees, set goals for various exercises, the number of calories burned, the time spent sleeping, the number of steps, and the like. Smart devices then measure these activities and thanks to this the user can see his progress towards the set target values. "If I owned these patents, I would be sued," said Chris Marlett, CEO of intellectual property investment group MDB Capital Group.
Jawbone's other two patents also sound quite familiar. One of them concerns the use of data from sensors worn on the body to infer the physical condition of the user in the context of, for example, location. The second deals with the continuous measurement of the user's calories taken in and out. To obtain these patents, Jawbone bought BodyMedia in April 2013 for $100 million.
Sid Leach, a partner at the law firm Snell & Willmer, predicts that this lawsuit will cause problems for all firms in the industry. "It could even have an impact on the Apple Watch," he said. If Jawbone wins the court case, it will have a weapon against Apple, which threatens to dominate the market until now dominated by Fitbit or Jawbone itself.
"If I were Jawbone," says Marlett, "I'd put Fitbit down before I attack Apple." Intellectual property is likely to be a key aspect of the battleground that's unfolding as the wearables market skyrockets. "A patent war is the result almost every time a technology comes out that is very popular and very lucrative," says Brian Love of the University of California's Santa Clara School of Law.
The reason for this is simple. Just like smartphones, smart bracelets contain a lot of different technologies and elements to patent, so naturally there will be lots and lots of companies looking to take a bite out of this growing technology industry.
Fitbit is being sued at a time when the company is about to become the first in the industry to go public. The company, founded in 2007, is valued at $655 million. Almost 11 million Fitbit devices have been sold during the company's existence, and last year the company took in a respectable $745 million. Statistics on the company's share of the American market for wireless activity monitors are also worth noting. In the first quarter of this year, according to the analytical firm NPD Group, this share was 85%.
Such success puts rival Jawbone on the defensive. This company was founded back in 1999 under the name Aliph and originally produced wireless hands-free kits. The company began producing activity trackers in 2011. Although the privately held company has revenue of $700 million and is valued at $3 billion, it is said to be unable to successfully finance its operations or repay its debts.
A spokesperson for Fitbit denies Jawbon's allegations. "Fitbit has independently developed and offers innovative products that help its users lead healthier and more active lives."
