KardiaBand mobile

Photo: Courtesy AliveCor

I’ve been interested in cardiac health since 1966, when my father, Rep. Carl Albert, had his first heart attack. (He recovered and served as House speaker, 1971-77.) I have published many scientific papers and received scores of patents.

I founded AliveCor in 2010 to engage with some of the best minds in technology who share this passion. We created the first electrocardiogram technology for smartphones that gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Apple came calling. Top executives brought us in for meetings, signed nondisclosure agreements and asked all sorts of questions about our technology. In what we thought was a cooperative spirit, we launched KardiaBand in 2016 for the Apple Watch cleared by the FDA. KardiaBand monitors heart rate and activity and can capture a medical-grade EKG in 30 seconds.

But in 2018 Apple made a flashy announcement claiming that it had created its own EKG technology for its watches. And it made its new operating system incompatible with SmartRhythm, AliveCor’s continuous-monitoring feature. Perhaps we shouldn’t have been shocked. As Steve Jobs once said, “We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.”

We had patents and other evidence, so we sought legal recourse. Apple fought back, filing dilatory motions and countersuits. We found ways to move forward with other products even as we poured huge amounts of time and money into the fight with Apple. Many other small businesses told us that when they faced such bullying, they gave in. We didn’t.

In June an administrative law judge for the U.S. International Trade Commission made an initial determination that Apple infringed our patented technology. In December the ITC upheld that finding in its final determination. AliveCor CEO Priya Abani called the ruling “a win for innovation and consumer choice.” The commission ordered a ban on imports of infringing Apple Watches, but suspended the ban while AliveCor faces a separate fight against Apple in the U.S. Patent Office.

But presidents can overrule ITC decisions, and Apple will urge Joe Biden to do so. If he does and hands Apple a victory, it will tell inventors everywhere not to bother creating truly disruptive technologies—even ones that can save lives. IP-intensive industries account for 44% of U.S. employment and 41% of gross domestic product. If Apple wins, the repercussions throughout this ecosystem will be seismic.

The president said days ago that “small businesses are the engines of our economy and the hearts of our communities.” This case gives him an opportunity to show he means it.

Dr. Albert is founder and chief medical officer of AliveCor.