Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), is accused of stealing an Apple Watch technology that has proven to be so good that it actually saves the lives of people who use it. We are talking about the function of the Apple Watch which is meant to detect atrial fibrillation, a doctor from New York saying that the method used has already been patented by him.
Apple Watch has implemented a function that allows passive heart rate monitoring to send notifications when irregularities are detected. It seems that the technique itself was not exactly new when it was implemented in the Apple Watch, a doctor from New York patenting the technology long before.
The doctor's patent was registered in 2006, and although he tried to discuss the issue with Apple, it seems that no agreement was reached. Now the doctor is asking a court in New York to prohibit the Apple company from offering the function in the Apple Watch, but also to pay him compensation for using the technology without his consent.
Wiesel said his invention covered "pioneering steps" in detecting atrial fibrillation by monitoring "irregular pulse rhythms over a sequence of time intervals." He said he first contacted Apple in September 2017, giving the Cupertino-based company detailed information about the patent. Apple "refused to negotiate in good faith to avoid this lawsuit," Wiesel claims in the lawsuit."
Apple has been sued many times by companies, or people, who considered that technologies, or software, created by them were used incorrectly by Apple. So far, very few open lawsuits against Apple have been successful, so it remains to be seen what will happen now.
