The United States Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit has just affirmed the original ITC ruling in the Masimo vs Apple legal battle, reports IPFray. That means Apple’s appeal was unsuccessful.
However, IPFray notes that Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Monica Bhattacharyya of the ITC found no infringement on the basis of an Apple Watch and an iPhone being paired to offer end users the functionality covered by patent claims that relate to monolithic devices. She gave notice of her recommended determination yesterday.
This means Apple will be able to bring back the feature in its original form when the patents underlying the import ban expire in about 2.5 years. Meanwhile, Apple Watch users can find the analysis of their blood oxygen levels on their iPhones.
Last November a U.S. federal ruled that Apple owed medical technology company Masimo US$634 million for patent infringement related to the blood oxygen-sensing technology in the Apple Watch, reported Reuters.
“Over the past six years (Masimo has) sued Apple in multiple courts and asserted over 25 patents, the majority of which have been found to be invalid,” an Apple spokesperson told Reuters. “The single patent in this case expired in 2022, and is specific to historic patient monitoring technology from decades ago.”
Not surprisingly, Apple appealed the verdict. This is all part of an ongoing legal battle.
In June 2022 Masimo filed a patent infringement complaint against Apple, asking for a ban on impacts of the Apple Watch. The medial device company claimed that the Apple Watch Series 6 infringed on five of its patents for devices that use light transmitted through the body to measure oxygen levels in the blood. The company said that the tech is vial to its business and that Apple is unfairly copying its features.
Masimo and its spinoff Cercacor Laboratories first sued in January 2020. They accused Apple of promising a working relationship only to steal secret information. The tech giant also allegedly attempted to hire away key employees, including Cercacor’s former chief technology officer and Masimo’s chief medical officer.
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