Jawbone, San Francisco, has filed another legal action against Fitbit.
The latest complaint – the third in the last two months – filed with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) on July 7 seeks to block Fitbit, San Francisco, from importing its devices or its parts. Jawbone is seeking a ruling from the ITC within 15 months.
In May, Jawbone filed a suit in California Superior Court (San Francisco) with four complaints, including allegations Fitbit hired Jawbone employees away for the purpose of finding out confidential information about Jawbone. A June lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in California alleges patent infringement.
Fitbit denied either charge in May and June and vowed to defend itself from Jawbone’s lawsuits, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Fitbit said in a statement that it “plans to defend itself vigorously against all allegations made in the complaint to the International Trade Commission,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Fitbit debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on June 18. Shares opened at $20 per share in its initial public offering and opened Monday at $43.29.
The profitability of the two companies is vastly different, according to an article on Forbes.com. Fitbit, which was founded in 2007, raised $43 million in capital two years ago, but the company only touched about $22 million of it, Fitbit CEO and co-founder James Park told Forbes.com.
In contrast, the 16-year-old Jawbone "struggles to achieve profitability," according to the article. Jawbone has raised $818.8 million in 12 rounds from 12 investors, according to Crunchbase.
Fitbit held the leading position in the U.S. connected activity tracker market with an 85 percent share, by dollars, in the first quarter of 2015, according to The NPD Group.