The brave new world of wearable tech: what implications for IP?
| Author | Emma Poole |
| Position | Executive Research Officer, WIPO |
| Pages | 9-13 |
p. 9WIPO | MAGAZINE
e Brave New World of
WEARABLE
TECHNOLOGY:
what implications for IP?
Wearable tech is both the newest technolo gy trend and one of
the oldest – we have been weari ng functional objects ever since
watchmakers like Peter Henlein develope d portable clocks in
the 16th Century. Now a sector that consists of multifunctional
watches, pedometers, hear t rate monitors, and GPS tracking
devices, wearable techno logy, which some estimate could be
worth US$42 billion within ve years, promises to revolution ize
marketing, retail, tness and med icine. This article explores
how and points to some of the IP issues that may ar ise as the
sector matures.
WHAT IS WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY?
Wearable technology encompasses innovations such as wear-
able computers or devic es; augmented reality (AR); and virtual
reality (VR). The existing wearable technology market is dom-
inated by a small number of device s: smart glasses, watches
and tness bands, many of which interact with smartphones
and tablets via apps to track use rs’ sleep, health, and movement
in a trend known as the ‘quantied self ’. D eloitte describes the
sector as a ‘mass niche’ that will generate ab out US$3 billion
in this year alone.
EARLY IP ISSUES
The “intellectual property arms race” in the wearables’ sector has
begun. The rst patent litigation i s now underway in the US as
Adidas takes issue with Unde r Armour over its MapMyFitnesss
app; and tech companies, like Goog le, are acquiring and de-
veloping patent arsenals. In 2013 alone, Google was awarded
over 2,000 US patents, almost double the number of all p revious
years combined, including one for a “gaze-tracking system.”
The wearable tech sector is in its i nfancy, but will raise a number
of intellectual proper ty (IP) challenges. It seems likely, however,
that these will mirror the patter n set by innovations in the mobile
and semiconductor sectors. If they do, the breadth and quality of
the patents that have already been gra nted may cause concern.
The question of the validit y of poor quality patents is prompting
heated debate and is up for reform in the US. Conve rsely, in-
dustry standards for the we arable sector will be inuenced by
recent national and internati onal developments – for example,
in the US and Europe – in standard-e ssential patents and
FRAND-licensing a greements (see box). Difculties may also
arise if more countries fo llow Germany and New Zealand in
questioning the patentabili ty of software.
Similarly, challenging questi ons will arise about the operation of
trademarks in the sector, particularl y in terms of how to handle
competing marks in dif ferent jurisdictions, branding in vi rtual
environments, and trademark enforcement in the ever-expand-
ing domain name system.
DESIGN: THE ELISION OF FORM WITH FUNCTION
Intellectual propert y has traditionally made a neat distinctio n
between design and p atent law that wearable tech may well
explode. Steve Jobs once said of desi gn: “It’s not just what it
looks like and feels like. Design is how i t works.” The elision of
form with function in weara ble tech is seen most clearly in the
increasing interaction between the tech and fashion industries.
Tech rms have recruited senior fashion executive s – Apple
having recently recruited Pau l Deneve from Yves Saint Laurent
and Angela Ahrend ts from Burberry – and both industri es have
formed partnerships and collaborations to design functional
fashion – consider Go ogle’s partnership with Ray Ban and
Oakley and Apple’s work with the Nike+ platfor m and devices.
Existing products incl ude smart jewelry and spo rtswear with
“smart” garme nts made of conductive bers that can interact
with other devices or determine product authenticity, not too
far away.
These new developments will b e affected by existing uncer-
tainties and diffe rences in international IP protection for three
dimensional desig ns of clothing and footwear. The lack of clarity
around the protection of unregistered designs and virtual designs
may also affect innovation in thi s sector but existing forms of IP
protection (such as trademarks or patents) may well ll the gap.
By Emma Poole,
Executive Re search Ocer,
WIPO
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