An unexpected result emerged in the patent infringement case filed by Apple against Masimo, which operates in the field of health technologies. While a federal jury in Delaware, USA, ruled that Masimo infringed some Apple patents, Apple was awarded only $250 in damages. This amount is the minimum compensation set by US law, revealing that Apple focused on protecting its intellectual property rights rather than financial gain in the case. Apple lawyer John Desmarais stated in his closing speech that the compensation amount was symbolic and the main purpose was to protect technological rights.
According to the jury’s decision, Masimo’s W1 and Freedom smart watch models and the health module violated a patent of Apple, while the charger used with these products violated a different Apple patent. This violation by Masimo was considered “intentional”. While Apple has been offering innovative health technologies such as blood oxygen level measurement feature in the smart watch field in recent years, Masimo’s move on a similar path has deepened the intellectual property conflict between the two companies. In this context, Apple filed this lawsuit by drawing attention to the similarity of Masimo’s health monitoring technologies to Apple Watch.
This case, which was filed in 2020 and covers many patent infringement claims, is not the first dispute between the two companies. Masimo claimed that Apple benefited from its own technologies by hiring its former employees in the process of developing health features such as the O2 sensor. In addition, the decision of the US International Trade Commission (ITC) earlier this year prevented the sale of Apple’s models with blood oxygen level measurement feature in the USA. Apple adapted to this restriction and released new Apple Watch models without this feature.
Masimo, with the support of ITC in its competition with Apple, demanded restrictions on Apple products in the US market. The ITC accepted this request and ruled that Apple’s blood oxygen sensor technology violated Masimo patents. After this decision, models such as Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 began to be sold in the USA without the blood oxygen measurement function. The latest Apple Watch Series 10 model does not have this feature. This situation seems to directly affect Apple’s future health technologies strategies.
While the future of this legal fight between Apple and Masimo remains uncertain, the efforts of both companies to stand out in the innovative health technologies market further escalate the battle for intellectual property rights. The low amount of compensation Apple received from this case can be considered a symbolic victory; However, such cases have the potential to affect the strategies and product innovations of both companies in the long term. Masimo’s request for import restrictions on Apple products, with the support it receives from ITC and other legal authorities, indicates that competition will continue unabated.