The legal battle between Apple and medical technology company Masimo is heating up, and the bigger company is winning this showdown, in some ways. According to Reuters, a federal jury has agreed with Apple that previous versions of Masimo’s W1 and Freedom watches (pictured above) infringed the company’s design patents. Apple was awarded only $250 in damages, the minimum amount allowed for patent infringement, but the company’s lawyers reportedly told the court that it wasn’t about the money anyway.
Apple, which is worth $3.5 trillion, wanted Masimo to stop selling its current smartwatch models. However, the jury found that these new models did not infringe on Apple’s intellectual property. That’s why Masimo also treated the jury’s decision as a victory, telling the press that he was grateful for the verdict, which was “in favor of Masimo and against Apple on almost every issue.” Apparently, this ruling only affects “discontinued modules and chargers.” As for Apple, he told Reuters: “We are pleased that the jury’s decision today protects innovation on behalf of our customers.”
Masimo sued Apple in 2021, accusing it of infringing several of its light-based blood oxygen monitoring patents, but the tech giant countersued a year later. A court will side with Masimo in 2023, forcing Apple to suspend sales of its latest smartwatch models, as the U.S. International Trade Commission bans imports of all Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 into the country. It’s gone. The company appealed and ultimately removed the technology from units offered in the U.S., allowing it to sell its watches domestically earlier this year.
