Mikey Campbell, writing for Apple Insider:

In a lawsuit filed with a district court in North Carolina on Monday, Valencell claims Apple showed interest in its biometric sensing technology in early 2013, around the same time that Apple Watch development was getting underway. Specifically, Apple Senior Partnership Manager Liang Hoe reached out with a partnership proposal for wrist-based heart rate sensing technology, the suit says.

Shortly after making its interest known, Apple instructed “agents” to glean additional information from Valencell’s website, which lets users download white papers relating to branded “PerformTek-Powered” biometric tech as long as they identify themselves through an online form.

A number of white papers were repeatedly accessed from multiple IP addresses assigned to Apple, though users masked their identities by providing false form information. Valencell claims to have positively identified seven individuals, all of whom played a part in designing Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor.

And:

While detailed specifics are not available, the suit alleges Apple found it economically advantageous to take the risk of infringing upon Valencell’s patents instead of licensing the technology outright.

Presumably, the truth will out on this.