U.S. jury: Apple must pay Masimo $634 million in smartwatch patent case

A federal jury in California ruled on Friday that Apple must pay $634 million to Masimo, a medical-monitoring technology company, for infringing a patent related to blood-oxygen reading technology.

The jury agreed with Masimo's claim that Apple Watch's workout mode and heart rate notification features violated its patent rights, as confirmed by a Masimo spokesperson.

Apple disagreed with the verdict and stated it would appeal. An Apple spokesperson noted that over the past six years, Masimo had filed lawsuits in multiple courts, asserting more than 25 patents, most of which were deemed invalid. The patent in question expired in 2022 and relates to historic patient monitoring technology from decades ago.

Masimo called the ruling a "significant win" in its ongoing efforts to protect its innovations and intellectual property.

The California lawsuit is part of a broader and contentious patent battle between Apple and Masimo, with Masimo accusing Apple of poaching its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology for use in Apple Watches.

In 2023, a U.S. trade tribunal blocked imports of Apple's Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches after finding they infringed Masimo’s patents. Apple removed blood-oxygen reading technology from its watches to comply with the ban but reintroduced an updated version in August with approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

On Friday, the ITC decided to hold a new proceeding to assess whether the updated watches should be subject to the ban. Masimo is also pursuing an ongoing lawsuit against Customs over the decision, while Apple has challenged the import ban in a federal appeals court.

In 2023, a California judge declared a mistrial in Masimo’s trade-secret case against Apple after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Last year, Apple won a minimal $250 verdict in Delaware over allegations that Masimo’s smartwatches infringed two Apple design patents.

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