Apple Stifling Rivals In Heart-Rate Analysis On WatchOS Devices, Alleges Lawsuit

Medical device maker AliveCor Inc. has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Apple Inc. AAPL, accusing the tech giant of monopolizing the market for heart-rate technology for the Apple Watch.

What Happened: AliveCor said that Apple excluded other heart-rate analysis providers from the Apple Watch and its monopolistic conduct in the cardio device market harmed AliveCor, patients and consumers.

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The suit, filed on Tuesday, alleges that Apple copied the technology of AliveCor’s products and changed the heart-rate algorithm on the “watchOS” operating system to make rival technology incompatible.

“The value of controlling such critical health data … was apparently too much of a temptation for Apple," the lawsuit alleges.

Privately-held AliveCor is seeking damages and an injunction requiring Apple to cease its “abusive conduct.”

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Why It Matters: The lawsuit comes on the heels of multiple patent infringement actions by AliveCor that allege Apple stole its cardiological detection and analysis technology.

AliveCor said last week that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has commenced an investigation into AppleWatch’s alleged infringement of three AliveCor patents.

AliveCor sells KardiaBand, an FDA-cleared Apple Watch wristband capable of recording an electrocardiogram, and SmartRhythm, an app that uses data from the Apple Watch’s heart-rate algorithm to alerts users to irregular heartbeats.

Apple has been facing several allegations surrounding its app store policies and the lack of competition.

In March, Apple was ordered by a federal court to pay $308.5 million for infringing a patent related to Personalized Media Communications LLC’s digital rights management.

Price Action: Apple shares closed less than 0.1% lower in Wednesday’s regular trading session at $126.85.

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