US trade regulator to probe Fitbit, Garmin for alleged patent violations: Report

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Manufacturers of wearable monitoring devices have come under the radar of US regulatory agencies. Following charges of alleged patent violations by Philips, the US International Trade Commission on January 10 said in a statement that it would look into the charges, including those against devices made by Fitbit, Garmin and two other Chinese manufacturing companies, the IB Times reported.

As per the Netherlands-based company's claims, these manufacturers are violating patent norms and infringing on technology features like reporting, motion sensing and activity tracking, the report said.

The Chinese companies will also come under the ambit of the federal agency's probe are Inventec and Maintek.

Wearable monitoring devices have become quite popular in recent times, with people becoming increasingly health and fitness conscious in recent times. Users use these fitness tracking devices on a daily basis to monitor physical activity data like the number of steps a day, heart rate, menstrual cycle and other such information.

Millennials form a major part of the customer group of such devices as result of which tech giants like Apple, Google and Samsung have also joined the race.

A Reuters report quoted Fitbit as saying that the claims made by Philips are without merit and are a result of its failure to succeed in the wearables market.