One of the newer features in the Apple Watch is the ability for it to check whether or not the user is experiencing Afib. This is thanks to the built-in ECG monitoring tool that according to reports, has saved quite a number of lives ever since it was introduced. However, it seems that not everyone is enamored by the feature.
One of those is a certain Dr. Joseph Wiesel from New York University, who is currently suing Apple over the Apple Watch’s Afib feature. According to Wiesel’s lawsuit, he claims that the Apple Watch’s feature has apparently infringed upon his patent, which he says marked the “pioneering steps” in monitoring Afib.
Wiesel was awarded a patent back in 2006 which describes how to monitor “irregular pulse rhythms from a succession of time intervals”. Wiesel also claims to have reached out to Apple back in 2017 about a potential partnership but apparently was rejected. In his lawsuit, Wiesel is asking the court to block the Cupertino company from using the technology and also for royalties he believed was owed to him.
It is unclear how this case will be resolved and if maybe Apple and Wiesel can come to some kind of agreement, but it will definitely is not the first time that the company has been accused of infringing upon a patent owned by someone else, although this is usually pretty common amongst big tech companies who are constantly in the spotlight.
Filed in . Read more about Apple Watch, Health, Legal, Patent, Smartwatch and Wearable Tech. Source: bloomberg