Telemedicine provider American Well today filed a lawsuit seeking relief from the infringement of intellectual property rights against Teladoc, another telemedicine provider.
The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges Teladoc "unfairly disregarded" American Well's intellectual property related to its technology in the telemedicine business.
"While a transparent and competitive landscape is an imperative for innovation, Teladoc has unfairly disregarded American Well's ownership rights to advance its business," said Ido Schoenberg, CEO of American Well, in a statement. "We developed and patented these innovations, and we owe it to our clients, partners and shareholders to protect them."
According to a Boston Business Journal report, the patented technology in question connects consumers with providers using specific algorithms. Additionally, American Well alleges Teladoc is aware of the patents, yet continues to ignore them.
According to the lawsuit, "American Well's patented technologies power the most downloaded mobile telehealth application of its kind in the United States, and the company's service was the first ever to receive accreditation by the American Telemedicine Association."
Teladoc emailed the following statement from CEO Jason Gorevic to Becker's Hospital Review:
"American Well's action today is in direct response to Teladoc's March 24 petition with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to invalidate certain American Well Corporation patents. We very strongly believe that those patents are invalid. For one, American Well's claims of being 'first-to-market' are demonstrably false due to the fact that Teladoc and others were providing telehealth long before American Well was even formed as a company. Second, the patents in question are impermissibly broad and cover matters that are too obvious to be patented. We will continue to pursue our petition to have American Well's patents invalidated. As for today's action by American Well, Teladoc will vigorously defend itself as it would in any other non-meritorious, ordinary-course litigation."
Teladoc is currently involved with a different lawsuit of its own against the Texas Medical Board regarding permission for providers to prescribe medication to patients over video consultations.
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