Apple v Masimo
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) judge has determined that Apple’s current methods of leveraging blood oxygen sensing on Apple Watch do not infringe on Masimo’s patents.
This follows after a long-running legal battle between the two companies.
In 2023, the ITC determined that Apple was in violation of Masimo’s patents regarding blood oxygen sensing.
This led to a potential US import ban on Apple’s Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in December 2023 before Apple earned a temporary pause in exchange for disabling the blood oxygen sensing feature in January 2024.
Following this, Apple Watch devices sold in the US that year did not offer blood oxygen sensing functionality. This remained the case until August 2025, when Apple introduced a workaround.
Using this workaround, Apple Watch is able to collect blood oxygen data but process it using the paired iPhone rather than the watch itself. The data is then only able to be viewed on the iPhone instead of being made available on Apple’s wearable.
A U.S. trade tribunal preliminarily ruled that the Apple Watch is currently not infringing on patents owned by Masimo, negating the ITC ban and is not impacted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
At the time of the introduction of this workaround, Masimo did not agree with Apple’s methods, once again filing a lawsuit with the CBP. The company also pressured the ITC to investigate whether Apple was violating the import ban.
Ultimately, the ITC is in favour of Apple’s new methods and believes that the company is not violating Masimo’s patents.
In late 2025, Apple lost the patent infringement lawsuit against Masimo, which awarded the company with $634 million USD (around $870 million CAD). Apple is appealing this verdict.
