Apple fights blood-oxygen ban on Apple Watch in court
Apple is urging a U.S. court to undo a trade decision that blocked imports of the Apple Watch because of the blood-oxygen sensor implementation, claiming it unfairly impacted millions of users.
On Monday, Apple asked a U.S. appeals court to overturn a trade ruling that forced it to disable the Apple Watch’s blood-oxygen feature. The company argued the decision wrongly penalized millions of users.
Masimo, the medical tech firm behind the complaint, said Apple was trying to rewrite existing law to protect its product. Reuters points out that the judges questioned whether Masimo’s competing device, still undeveloped at the time, justified the International Trade Commission ruling.
Apple’s legal team argued the ban was unjustified since Masimo’s watch was “purely hypothetical” in 2021. Masimo, however, doesn’t believe that a finished product needed to exist. Doubly so, as it maintains Apple hired key Masimo employees, which facilitated Apple’s knowledge of Masimo’s then-secret blood oxygen sensor innovations.
A battle five years in the making
The years-long battle began all the way back in 2020 when Masimo alleged Apple stole trade secrets and infringed ten patents used in the Apple Watch’s health tracking features. Masimo also accused Apple of poaching staff and using confidential technology without proper credit.
Masimo’s 2020 lawsuit sought damages, a sales ban, and credit for inventions allegedly misappropriated by Apple. The case also targeted former Masimo and Cercacor scientists now working for Apple.
Although Masimo’s trade secret claims eventually fell apart in California, the ITC ruled in 2023 that Apple had infringed several of its patents. This ruling temporarily blocked imports of Apple Watch models using the contested sensor.
Apple disabled the blood oxygen feature via software to keep selling the Apple Watch in the United States during the appeal process. Masimo’s own smartwatch, the W1, was later found to infringe Apple’s design patents.
Amid the ongoing dispute, Masimo CEO Joe Kiani resigned after losing a power struggle with a hedge fund, though his departure was unrelated to Apple. Kiani had previously expressed willingness to settle, but Apple made no move to negotiate.
When the smartwatch market declined in 2024, Apple saw a major drop in shipments partly due to the patent dispute.
