There has been an important development in the patent disputes between Apple and medical technology company Masimo, which have been going on for a long time and have deepened with various lawsuits. A federal jury in California ruled that Apple infringed on patents related to Masimo’s blood oxygen level monitoring technology. The court decided that Apple should pay $634 million in compensation for this violation.
Masimo is known for the medical devices it developed for patient monitoring, and claimed that the blood oxygen measurement feature offered by Apple in its Watch series was based on its own patented technologies. The jury’s decision justified the claims that the sensors in the Workout and Heart Rate applications on the Apple Watch use Masimo’s patented technology.
Apple will appeal the decision
In its statement about the decision, Apple stated that the only patent subject to the court expired in 2022 and that the technology in question belonged to an old patient monitoring method dating back years. It was reported that the company will object to this decision and will appeal.
The dispute between Apple and Masimo is not limited to this case. Masimo had previously accused Apple of violating pulse oximeter patents, and in the process, Apple had to temporarily stop the sales of the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models in the USA.
Following this development, Apple made a design update in the blood oxygen measurement feature and introduced this updated version in the Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2 models. US Customs and Border Protection approved this new design, allowing Apple to resell it. However, Masimo filed a new lawsuit against the relevant institution, citing the fact that this approval was given without consulting them.
This lawsuit filed by Masimo reveals that the ongoing disputes have not only commercial but also regulatory dimensions as Apple continues to sell redesigned devices. The claim that the Customs and Border Protection Unit’s authority limits may have been exceeded also paves the way for new discussions on how regulations in this field will be implemented.
All these developments bring to the agenda that biometric sensors used in wearable technology products should be more strictly controlled in terms of patent protection and technological property rights. The fact that functions related to monitoring medical data are increasingly being integrated into smart watches and similar consumer electronics products shows that technology giants need to take their steps in this field more carefully.