Apple Defeats Masimo Bid to Reinstate Watch Import Ban
The ITC ruled that Apple's redesigned watches do not infringe Masimo patents. This decision rejects a bid to reinstate an import ban on the wearable devices.
A trade tribunal in the United States has ruled in favor of APPLE INC, rejecting an effort by medical technology firm MASIMO CORP to reinstate an import ban on the tech giant's smartwatches. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) officially closed the case after opting not to review a preliminary decision from March, which found that Apple's redesigned watch models do not infringe on patents held by the DANAHER CORP-owned company regarding blood-oxygen monitoring technology.
Following the decision, Apple expressed its approval of the tribunal's findings, while a spokesperson for Masimo declined to comment on the matter.
We thank the ITC for its decision, which ensures we can continue to offer this important health feature to our users.
The legal conflict stems from allegations that Apple recruited Masimo employees to misappropriate pulse-oximetry technology. In December 2023, the ITC initially blocked imports of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. To circumvent the ban, Apple temporarily disabled the blood-oxygen features before introducing a modified version last August, which received approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The updated software displays health data on connected devices like the iPhone rather than directly on the watch face.
While this ruling marks a victory for Apple, the broader legal battle continues. Masimo has filed separate litigation against U.S. Customs over the approval of the redesigned watches and is pursuing a patent infringement and trade-secret theft case in a California federal court. In a recent development in that case, a jury awarded Masimo $634 million, a verdict that Apple has stated it intends to appeal.
