Samsung, Google and Garmin face a new US import ban threat

Here we go again. UnaliWear has filed a second US import complaint against Samsung, Google and Garmin, even though its first case against those companies and Apple is still moving through the system.

The original UnaliWear complaint was all about smartwatch fall detection. The USITC opened an investigation in January 2026 after the company claimed that watches from Apple, Google, Samsung and Garmin infringed two of its patents.

Not an extension

The latest complaint is a separate action filed on September 21 under docket DN 3937. Samsung, Google and Garmin are back on the list, but Apple is nowhere to be seen this time.

There is another notable difference. The US International Trade Commission’s receipt notice describes the new case as covering “wearable activity and health monitoring devices and systems containing same,” which sounds much broader than the fall-detection wording used in the first investigation.

UnaliWear wants import restrictions and cease-and-desist orders covering products it believes infringe its intellectual property. Unfortunately, the Federal Register notice published on September 24 does not identify the patents, patent claims or products involved. And the USITC has not yet decided whether to open a formal investigation.

Apple’s absence is the interesting part

The first case cast a wider net. That investigation focuses on electronic watches capable of detecting when a wearer has fallen. The official institution notice identifies US patents 10,051,410 and 10,687,193, while the case remains pending before an administrative law judge. 

This time, Apple has disappeared from the respondent list. The omission could mean the new allegations concern technology or products that differ from Apple’s implementation, or it could reflect a separate legal strategy, but the public notices do not provide enough evidence to choose between those explanations.

It is possible the new dispute extends beyond fall detection. But we do not know for sure. Until the public complaint reveals the asserted patents and accused features, the broader title remains a clue rather than a conclusion.

No wearable faces a ban yet

Import-ban language tends to make these cases sound more immediate than they are. The Commission must first decide whether to institute an investigation, and any case it opens would then move through evidence, claim interpretation and an initial determination before reaching a possible remedy.

There is also no confirmed product list. Garmin recently completed its Venu 4 fall-detection rollout, but nothing in the new notice connects the Venu 4, its version 18.30 update or any other named Garmin device to DN 3937.

The same caution applies to Google and Samsung. Their presence in the complaint makes the filing relevant to Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch owners, but it does not establish that every watch, or any specific watch, uses the technology UnaliWear says infringes its rights.

The next real update to this story will come when the USITC decides if it will formally institute an investigation. Hopefully then it will publish enough detail to identify the patents, products and health features at the centre of the dispute.