AliveCor files an antitrust lawsuit against Apple alleging monopoly over heart-rate technology

AliveCor Inc., a Silicon Valley Company filed a lawsuit accusing Apple Inc. of its antitrust behavior concerning the market for heart-rate monitoring technology of Apple Watch. It also alleged that Apple through its Apple Watch is endangering the wearer's health.

The allegation against Apple was regarding the market dominance over the technology by changing the heart-rate algorithm on its watch's operating system, making rival technology incompatible.

The complaint done by AliveCor sells KardiaBand, an Apple Watch wristband capable of recording an electrocardiogram, and SmartRhythm, an app that alerts users to irregular heartbeats. The allegation made was that Apple is quietly "working in the background" for recording ECG on the Apple Watch and providing the heart-rate analysis in a separate app.

"As it has done multiple times over the years in other markets, Apple decided that it would not accept competition on the merits," AliveCor said in its complaint filed in San Francisco federal court. "The value of controlling such critical health data (with the accompanying ability to exploit it) was apparently too much of a temptation for Apple," it added. "To gain an unfair competitive edge, Apple put countless AliveCor users' lives in danger."

Putting such an allegation on a $2 trillion company, AliveCor seeks unspecified triple damages due to the willful efforts of Apple to create the monopoly. Apple does have apps for taking ECGs and for measuring heart rate. AliveCor has also sued Apple previously for its patent infringement seeking to ban the imports of Apple Watches by the US International Trade Commission. Apple did not comment on the latest case.

Case: AliveCor Inc v Apple Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 21-03958