A U.S. judge ruled that Apple had infringed on one of Masimo Corp’s pulse oximeter patents by importing and selling certain Apple Watches with light-based pulse oximetry functionality and components.
A United States Administrative Law Judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that Apple violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 as amended, by importing and selling within the United States certain Apple Watches with light-based pulse oximetry functionality and components, which infringe one of Masimo’s pulse oximeter patents. Apple first released its pulse oximeter sensor with the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020 and continues to use it in the current Apple Watches. The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) will now consider whether to implement a ban on imports of these Apple Watches.
“We are happy that the ALJ recognized Apple’s infringement of Masimo’s pulse oximetry technology and took this critical first step toward accountability,” said Joe Kiani, CEO of Masimo, in a staement. “Today’s decision should help restore fairness in the market. Apple has similarly infringed on other companies’ technologies, and we believe today’s ruling exposes Apple as a company that takes other companies’ innovations and repackages them.”
“We respectfully disagree with today’s decision, and look forward to a full review by the Commission,” Apple said in a statement, Reuters reports.
MacDailyNews Take: The saga continues. Apple in October 2022 filed a lawsuit against Masimo alleging that that Masimo’s W1 watch copies the design and functionality of the Apple Watch.
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God invented light…so God should now take Masimo to court for infringement, since it’s a light-based pulse oximetry.
Ah, the cycle of life.
“God” didn’t file a patent. Masimo did. Best not to comment on stuff you don’t understand.
The comments on this website used to be somewhat insightful. Not anymore. Blatant bias, politics, and lack of content management (stopping spam and nonstop puerile insults) by the anonymous site owners has driven away the vast majority of intelligent Mac users. Time to shut down mdn and return money to the investors.
Many medical devices used in hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s offices use light-based pulse oximetry readers. If Masimo is not going after the manufacturers of those medical devices, it’s a clear case of a counter suit to hope for some financial middle ground where Apple pays them to just go away.
Masimo make or license the tech for many of those devices.