AliveCor has suffered another setback in its long-running patent case against Apple. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the decision that the medical device manufacturer’s patents for ECGs are not actually patentable. As a result, the Apple Watch will not face a second import ban from the International Trade Commission (ITC).
These disputes between AliveCor and Apple began in 2021. AliveCor appealed to the ITC, claiming that Apple had infringed its ECG patents. The ITC ruled in favor of AliveCor, recommending an import ban that would have prevented Apple’s ECG watches from being sold in the United States. However, this decision did not take effect immediately, as the Patent Trial and Appeal Board also ruled that the three patents in question were not valid. In order for the import ban to continue, AliveCor had to win an appeal against the PTAB decision, which it did not do.
