Maker of the Kanega Medical Alert Watch UnaliWear, Inc. has filed suit against Alphabet (Google) ( 7:25-cv-00571) and Apple ( 7:25-cv-00570) in the Western District of Texas, against Garmin ( 2:25-cv-11772) in the Central District of California, and against Samsung ( 2:25-cv-01214) in the Eastern District of Texas. The plaintiff has filed a companion action ( 337-TA-3865) before the International Trade Commission (ITC), identifying the same four companies as proposed respondents. The same two patents are asserted in each complaint, infringement allegations targeting "certain wearable devices and components thereof, such as smartwatches with fall detection capabilities". In the cover letter accompanying its ITC complaint, UnaliWear argues that any remedial orders resulting from the investigation would not prove too burdensome, pointing (in part) to Apple's redesign "within a matter of months" of its Watches to remove features "adjudicated by the Commission to be infringing patents in another Investigation".
The asserted patents (10,051,410; 10,687,193) comprise a two-patent family with respective issue dates in August 2018 and June 2020. The family has earliest estimated priority in September 2013 based on the filing of a provisional application. Jean Anne Booth is the lead named inventor for both, joined by Jonathan Guy and Brian Kircher for the '410 patent and by Brian Kircher, Davin Potts, and Syed Sajjad Ahmed for the '193 patent. This wave of cases appears to mark the patents' litigation debut. In its ITC complaint, UnaliWear describes the patents as generally related to "wearable devices adapted to monitor a wearer's physical activity patterns and to provide assistance to the wearer when a need for assistance is indicated".
UnaliWear was formed in Delaware in 2013. On its website, UnaliWear characterizes Booth as a serial entrepreneur, having founded Luminary Micro, "the creators of the Stellaris microcontroller platform and the first to market with ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontroller solutions", and Intrinsity, "the creators of the graphics chip in Apple iPad products". Per the website, Texas Instruments acquired Luminary Micro in 2009, Apple acquiring Intrinsity in 2010. The motivation to found UnaliWear is also there recounted: Booth "observed her elderly mother, and saw the vulnerability that old age can bring"; "noted that traditional medical alert systems are both ugly and socially stigmatizing, so many people avoid getting much-needed medical alert systems"; and, through UnaliWear, "created the Kanega Watch, the only watch with built-in Fall Detection that connects to emergency response agents 24/7/365". Per the website, "unalii" is Cherokee for "friend" and "kanega", for "speak", combining to "friend that speaks to you".
The plaintiff/complainant relies on its own activities to satisfy the domestic industry requirements at the ITC, pleading that its Kanega Medical Alert Watch with Fall Detection exemplifies claim 1 of each asserted patent. The other investigation that UnaliWear refers to in its cover letter is likely the one brought by Masimo and Cercacor Laboratories against Apple, resulting in remedial orders that prompted Apple to remove the feature for measuring blood oxygen levels from certain Watch models. That dispute continues to percolate within a larger litigation landscape between those parties. Last month, a Central District of California jury returned a $634M verdict for Masimo/Cercacor in a case apparently themed around whether an Apple Watch should properly be considered the recited "patient monitor". For details, see here.
Russ August & Kabat represents UnaliWear. In connection with the Garmin case, filed in the Central District of California, which imposes heightened disclosure on litigants, the plaintiff certifies that Russ August & Kabat is the only nonparty with a pecuniary interest in the outcome of the case. That suit has yet to be assigned to a judge. The cases against Apple and Google have been assigned to District Judge David Counts; the one against Samsung, to District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III. The usual motions to stay district court litigation in light of a parallel ITC investigation have yet to be filed. The complaints identify the accused products as certain of each defendant's wearable offerings, including the Apple Watch (calling out Series 10), Google Pixel Watch (calling out Google Pixel Watch 3), Garmin Forerunner Watch (Forerunner 970), and Samsung Galaxy Watch (Watch8). 12/12, Apple, Google, Western District of Texas, Garmin, Central District of California, Samsung, Eastern District of Texas, all, ITC.
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