Raging Oz start-up threatens legal action over Apple's HealthKit app

“We won't let them trample over our product ... someone needs to be fired for this,” scathed Alison Hardacre, co-founder of Australian start-up HealthKit.

Addressing questions from a British newspaper, Hardacre's fury was clear for all to see, when quizzed about Apple’s decision to name their new app HealthKit, a direct rip off of the Melbourne-based firm.

“We have a business with the same name and a similar product, if they had done a quick Google search they (Apple) would have seen that,” Hardacre said. “It's not fair.”

With two owners and a small office in Victoria, HealthKit is considering legal action against the tech giant, with Hardacre adamant Cupertino has stolen the company’s name, which was launched in 2012.

“It would have taken five seconds to type www.healthkit.com into their browser and discover us,” she added.

“Would it have made any difference to them? Are they so big that they are above doing an ordinary Google search?

“This is just not right. We have had these great ambitions to make health better for customers.”

According to the company’s official blog, Hardacre claims somebody had emailed her warning her of Apple’s plans, which were announced at the company’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference last week.

“I got up and turned on my computer and checked our web stats, and discovered we had lots of people on the HealthKit site,” she wrote.

“A good thing, you'd think. No, not really. Apple liked our HealthKit idea so much that they have used our name and launched a new product called HealthKit.”

“HealthKit is already in use, by us! Even the way they write it is the same as us.

“I’m flattered that they like our name so much and that it's a ringing endorsement for our market opportunity (which we already knew).

“However, as an Apple fan, I feel let down.”

Does Apple have a case to answer?