Google’s Patent Application for Wearable Electronics Rejected by the Indian Patent Office

The Indian Patent Office has quite recently rejected Google’s Patent Application for wearable electronic devices by observing that it doesn’t account for the inventive steps and doesn’t include the full description of its use and method in the complete specification. In its patent application, Google stated that the invention consists of electronic devices provided in shoes or ankle bracelets.

Filed for the “System and method for electronic devices in 2007,” the patent application specifies multiple methods, such as electronic communication devices attached to the clothes, a shoe, which can communicate data to the users, ankle bracelets capable of transmitting updated information from the body to the users, and wireless earpieces. The corresponding drawings submitted by Google to the patent office also showed the design of a shoe, which can be a wearable electronic device. The device mounted on the shoe has a display for caller ID information, showtime, pulse rate, and temperature, and according to the patent application, such wearables provide functions that are not present in the already existing devices in today’s digital age, such as the smartphones and personal digital assistants. The wearable device consists of various features like satellite navigation receiver, calender information, vibrator, camera, motion sensing unit, humidity sensor, air pressure sensor, and temperature sensor, amongst many others.

One of the objections raised by the Indian Patent Office was corresponding to the claims lacking the inventive step required under the Indian Patent Act. As per the patent office, the patent claims of the apparel used as personal devices in the patent application for transmitting and displaying data were already known according to the available documents. Furthermore, the patent claims concerning the functionality of transmitting and receiving calls on a portable device worn on the wrist were also known. The patent office also stated that the patent application lacked the proper disclosure and specification, as required by the Indian Patent Act. In the ruling, the assistant controller of patents and designs stated that the specification in the patent application should efficiently disclose the best method of performing the invention, corresponding to which the applicant can claim Patent Protection. The ruling further read that the patent description should be sufficient in all aspects to enable a person possessing average knowledge and skill to make the invention work and then obtain the corresponding results claimed for the invention. As the invention, its operation or use, and the method using which, it is to be performed, weren’t adequately described in the specification, the patent office rejected the patent application.

Google has been developing its wearable ecosystem with Wear OS that is widely used in smartwatches for messaging, fitness tracking, and several other things. As per various reports, Google acquired Fitbit (wireless-enabled wearable technology devices maker) for $2.1 in 2019 with further plans of expanding its wearables offerings and investing more on Wear OS.