Apple Ordered to Pay Masimo $634 Million Over Apple Watch Patent Infringement

A federal jury in California has ordered Apple to pay medical technology company Masimo $634 million for infringing on a patent related to blood-oxygen reading technology. The jury agreed with Masimo that the Apple Watch's workout mode and heart rate notification features violated the company's patent rights.

The verdict is the latest development in a contentious, multi-front legal battle between the two companies. The dispute previously led to a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) import ban on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in 2023, after the tribunal found that Apple's blood oxygen technology infringed on Masimo patents. After the Biden administration allowed the ban to stand, Apple was forced to remove the feature from new watches sold in the U.S. The company later reintroduced a redesigned version of the feature in August after receiving approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.


Just this week, the ITC instituted a new proceeding to determine whether Apple's updated watches should also be subject to the ban. Masimo has also filed a separate lawsuit against U.S. Customs over its decision to approve the redesigned feature.

In a statement to Reuters, an Apple spokesperson said the company disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal.

"Over the past six years (Masimo has) sued Apple in multiple courts and asserted over 25 patents, the majority of which have been found to be invalid. The single patent in this case expired in 2022, and is specific to historic patient monitoring technology from decades ago."

Masimo issued its own statement, calling the verdict a significant victory.


"We are pleased by this outcome, and appreciate the time and attention given to our case by the court and the jury. This is a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property, which is crucial to our ability to develop technology that benefits patients. We remain committed to defending our IP rights moving forward."

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