Fitbit said the US International Trade Commission found in its favour in its trade secrets spat with Jawbone, with the wearables market leader stating it is “pleased” with the initial determination.

An administrative law judge presiding over the hearing said that Fitbit did not misappropriate trade secrets from its troubled wearables rival. It followed an earlier decision which eliminated from the investigation six Jawbone patents asserted against the market leader.

“From the outset of this litigation, we have maintained that Jawbone’s allegations were utterly without merit and nothing more than a desperate attempt by Jawbone to disrupt Fitbit’s momentum to compensate for their own lack of success in the market,” said James Park, CEO and co-founder of Fitbit.

Indeed, while Fitbit has held firm at the top of the market, Jawbone has seen its presence in the sector slide. It has not updated its product portfolio for some time.

The current legal dispute began in May 2015.

Reports suggest that Jawbone has attempted to sell itself in recent months, amid suggestion it had delayed payments to business partners. The company was also said to have offloaded its stock to a distributor, enabling it to generate cash more quickly.