Jawbone hits Fitbit with another lawsuit, seeks to ban US shipments
The court drama between Jawbone and Fitbit is heating up quickly. Two weeks ago Jawbone sued Fitbit for "plundering" confidential information (along with employees), now Jawbone is topping that off with another lawsuit centered on patent infringement. And it's going an extra mile this time: the Up fitness band maker is also trying to stop shipments of Fitbit's products in the US by bringing the matter to the International Trade Commission. Specifically, Jawbone says Fitbit infringed on its patent that details "a wellness application using data from a data-capable band." On the face of it, though, that seems like something just about every wearable maker is doing. Still, this can't be good news for Fitbit, which is currently preparing to go public on the stock market.
Fitbit, naturally, denies any wrongdoing. "Fitbit has no need to take information from Jawbone or any other company," the company said in a statement to the WSJ. "We are unaware of any confidential or proprietary information of Jawbone in our possession and we intend to vigorously defend against these allegations."
Jawbone's lawsuits come after its most recent flagship product, the Up 3, was delayed for months and then panned by reviewers. And while it already announced a successor to that device, the Up4, it's basically the same thing as the Up3 with AmEx NFC payments. Basically, that means it probably won't be a great year for Jawbone when it comes to flagship device sales.
