Apple today decided to countersue AliveCor in order to better defend its interests. The dispute began in 2021, when AliveCor filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) accusing Apple of infringing three of AliveCor's electrocardiogram patents.

The two sides then went back and forth in court, IT House has learned, and AliveCor filed a complaint with the ITC earlier this year seeking an import ban on the AppleWatch, and the judge ruled in AliveCor's favor.

With the countersuit, Apple hopes to clarify who pioneered the electrocardiogram-related patents and curb AliveCor's rampant infringement. Apple was a pioneer in the ECG patent, having researched, developed and patented the core underlying technology before AliveCor existed, the company said in its countersuit. AliveCor's lawsuit is nothing more than a lawsuit to sell its new electrocardiogram product.

Apple filed a patent for AliveCor years before it was born. The complaint cites several Apple patents related to the AppleWatch's heart rate and electrocardiogram capabilities, which Apple says AliveCor's KardiaMobile, KardiaMobileCard and Kardia apps violate.