Washington: Fitbit Inc.’s three patents used in its case against Jawbone Inc. are invalid, a US trade judge said as he cancelled an August trial between the rival makers of fitness devices. “This case, among other patent actions, was brought improperly by Fitbit in an attempt to burden Jawbone with having to defend invalid patents in multiple venues,” Jawbone said in a statement. All that’s left of its case are allegations that Fitbit gained improper access to Jawbone trade secrets; the trial in that case was heard in May. Fitness trackingThe three Fitbit patents in the case relate to portable monitoring devices, a wearable heart-rate monitor and a system where a motion detector monitors physical activity. Jawbone, whose parent company is Aliphcom, is challenging the invalidity findings against its patents.

Source: Mint July 21, 2016 08:26 UTC