Apple has been awarded the paltry sum of $250 in damages after a court in the US ruled that wearable tech rival Masimo infringed on two of its smartwatch design patents. However, Apple has failed in its grander bid to try and score a means to overturn the ban on its blood oxygen feature in the US.
As reported by Reuters, Apple took Masimo to court over its W1 and Freedom smartwatches, models which Apple claims willfully violate its patented smartwatch designs. It's part of a much bigger intellectual property spat between the companies that ultimately led to a ban on the blood oxygen feature, which can no longer be shipped on the best Apple Watches in the US as a result.
New models sold in the US, including the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, come without the blood oxygen feature as a result of an International Trade Commission ruling, which found that Apple's own blood oxygen tech infringed on patents held by Masimo.
While Apple's most recent ruling is a tick in the win column, the lawsuit really had nothing to do with the niche smartwatches Masimo sells, and everything to do with Apple trying to get that ban overturned. To that end, the case hasn't been a success for Apple, and is bad news for customers who continue to miss out on the important health feature.
Blood oxygen on Apple Watch – still in Limbo
As noted by ip fray's Florian Mueller, a world-leading patent litigation expert, Apple's most recent case against Masimo was "never was about Masimo competing with Apple in the smartwatch market." The company sells a negligible number of smartwatches, and only sells them domestically to comply with ITC regulations.
As Mueller explains, "What Apple really wanted was either to obtain an injunction so that it would have an argument for lifting Masimo’s import ban or at least a legal fight over whether Apple should get an injunction."
Apple was hoping its recent design case would have given it ammunition to take back to a court to help it obtain an injunction to overturn the Apple Watch blood oxygen ban. Undeterred, Apple told TechRadar in a statement: "We thank the jury for their careful consideration in this case, finding Masimo willfully infringed Apple’s patented designs. Teams at Apple worked for years to develop Apple Watch, a successful and innovative product that meaningfully impacts users’ lives. Masimo took shortcuts, launching a device that copies Apple Watch and infringes our intellectual property. We are glad the jury's decision today will protect the innovations we advance on behalf of our customers.”
Without that ruling, Apple's options for getting the ban overturned remain limited. However, there is still some hope. As reported earlier this month, Masimo has a new CEO, and that could open the door for a deal between the two companies.
As reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the previous CEO Joe Kiani was a vocal critic of Apple, suggesting that the new CEO could be more amicable. With no legal reprieve in sight for Apple, a licensing deal between the two companies could be the only way blood oxygen returns to the Apple Watch in the US.
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