Jury says Apple owes Masimo $634 million for patent infringement

A federal jury in California ruled Friday that Apple must pay medical device company Masimo $634 million for violating a patent on blood oxygen monitoring technology.

Reuters reported that the jury found that the Apple Watch’s workout mode and heart rate notification features infringed Masimo’s patent.

“This is a major win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property, which is critical to our ability to develop technology that benefits patients,” Massimo said in a statement. “We are committed to defending our intellectual property rights moving forward.”

An Apple spokesperson told Reuters that the company plans to appeal the ruling, adding that “the only patent in this case expired in 2022, and it is for historical patient monitoring technology from decades ago.”

TechCrunch has reached out to Apple for additional comment.

The legal dispute between Masimo and Apple focuses on pulse oximetry, which uses an optical sensor to detect blood flow. Masimo has accused Apple of hiring its employees — including its chief medical officer — and infringing on patents on its pulse oximetry technology.

The US International Trade Commission backed Masimo in 2023, banning Apple from importing Apple Watches with blood oxygen monitoring features — which is why Apple Watches haven’t supported blood oxygen monitoring in recent years.

Then Apple announced in August this year that it was introducing a new version of the feature designed to circumvent the ban, with blood oxygen readings measured and calculated on the user’s paired iPhone, rather than on the Apple Watch itself.

Masimo is suing US Customs and Border Patrol for approving the import of Apple Watches with the new blood oxygen app, while Apple has asked an appeals court to overturn the import ban.

Apple also sued Masimo, winning the statutory minimum payment of $250 when a jury found that Masimo had infringed Apple’s design patents.