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Apple Hit With $634 Million Verdict in Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Patent Lawsuit

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A U.S. federal jury has ruled that Apple owes medical technology company Masimo $634 million for patent infringement related to the blood oxygen-sensing technology in the Apple Watch, reports Reuters. Apple will appeal the verdict.

apple-watch-series-6-blood-oxygen-monitoring-1.jpg

"We are pleased by this outcome, and appreciate the time and attention given to our case by the court and the jury," said Masimo in a press release." This is a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property, which is crucial to our ability to develop technology that benefits patients. We remain committed to defending our IP rights moving forward."

"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."

The patent dispute led to a ban on U.S. sales of Apple Watch with the blood oxygen feature in December 2023. Apple was able to temporarily continue selling the Apple Watch models while an interim stay was in place during an appeal, but the ban was reinstated as of January 18, 2024, and Apple addressed the issue by immediately launching sales of models with the feature disabled in software.

Apple Watch models in the U.S. remained unable to support blood oxygen monitoring for over a year and a half before Apple introduced a workaround in August 2025 with blood oxygen data being processed and displayed on a paired iPhone rather than on the Apple Watch itself, a change that satisfied U.S. Customs regulators that had been charged with enforcing the original ban.

Apple's workaround did not sit well with Masimo, which filed another lawsuit in an attempt to overturn the U.S. Customs decision and once again prevent Apple from selling Apple Watch models with the blood oxygen feature in the U.S., but there has yet to be a ruling in that lawsuit.

Article Link: Apple Hit With $634 Million Verdict in Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Patent Lawsuit
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/11/15/apple-634-million-verdict-masimo-lawsuit/
MacRumors said:


A U.S. federal jury has ruled that Apple owes medical technology company Masimo $634 million for patent infringement related to the blood oxygen-sensing technology in the Apple Watch, reports Reuters. Apple will appeal the verdict.

apple-watch-series-6-blood-oxygen-monitoring-1.jpg

"We are pleased by this outcome, and appreciate the time and attention given to our case by the court and the jury," said Masimo in a press release." This is a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property, which is crucial to our ability to develop technology that benefits patients. We remain committed to defending our IP rights moving forward."

"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."

The patent dispute led to a ban on U.S. sales of Apple Watch with the blood oxygen feature in December 2023. Apple was able to temporarily continue selling the Apple Watch models while an interim stay was in place during an appeal, but the ban was reinstated as of January 18, 2024, and Apple addressed the issue by immediately launching sales of models with the feature disabled in software.

Apple Watch models in the U.S. remained unable to support blood oxygen monitoring for over a year and a half before Apple introduced a workaround in August 2025 with blood oxygen data being processed and displayed on a paired iPhone rather than on the Apple Watch itself, a change that satisfied U.S. Customs regulators that had been charged with enforcing the original ban.

Apple's workaround did not sit well with Masimo, which filed another lawsuit in an attempt to overturn the U.S. Customs decision and once again prevent Apple from selling Apple Watch models with the blood oxygen feature in the U.S., but there has yet to be a ruling in that lawsuit.

Article Link: Apple Hit With $634 Million Verdict in Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Patent Lawsuit
Click to expand...
but there is also this in the Reuters article:

The jury agreed with Masimo that the Apple Watch's workout mode and heart rate notification features violated Masimo's patent rights, a Masimo spokesperson confirmed.

how does that relate to the blood oxygen feature/patent? I'm confused now ...
 
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I forget where I read this but the patent in question lapses in 2028 or something? At this point Apple seems to be willing to wait it out while drowning Masimo in legal fees.

Is it true that most of Apple’s competitors simply bit the bullet and licensed Masimo’s tech?
 
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DocMultimedia said:
Slimy company that deserves nothing. They don't care about human health, just profits from old technology and lawsuits.
Click to expand...


Masimo is a real company that has been operating with these kinds of sensors - and more - long before Apple started this kind of monitoring. I was managing introduction of new systems for patient monitoring, which was using sensors from Masimo (among others) at a new hospital just a couple of weeks ago so they're a large, worldwide company in their sector.

Apple was looking into licensing from Masimo, but chose not to. Instead they hired employees away from Masimo and designed something that was close enough to what Masimo had that several instances has sided with them - and Apple failing with their argument "this is a watch, not a patient monitor. Thus we can use what's described in the patents". I dislike patent trolls more than most and has done so for many decades, but this is not one of these.

Of all the IP cases Apple has had, this is one of the very few where I side with the other side.
 
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MrPiper415 said:
It would have been a lot cheaper for Apple - and therefore consumers - had they just paid for the licensing fee, like everyone else.
Click to expand...

Indeed. While I have heard unsubstantiated claims Massimo wanted over $100 per watch, claims based on FRAND patents say this would have been closer to $10-20 per watch.

Evidently this judgement works out to just under $15 per infringing watch.
 
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jz0309 said:
but there is also this in the Reuters article:

The jury agreed with Masimo that the Apple Watch's workout mode and heart rate notification features violated Masimo's patent rights, a Masimo spokesperson confirmed.

how does that relate to the blood oxygen feature/patent? I'm confused now ...
Click to expand...

I have read that Massimo's claim was that the Apple Watch is a "patient monitoring device" and the workout mode and heart rate notifications were how Massimo argued the Apple Watch was such a device.
 
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CWallace said:
I have read that Massimo's claim was that the Apple Watch is a "patient monitoring device" and the workout mode and heart rate notifications were how Massimo argued the Apple Watch was such a device.
Click to expand...
so, Masimo says (and the court sided with them) that the AW is a "patient monitoring device" and uses that as the basis for the SpO2 patent dispute? ... that is a stretch imho but I'm certainly no legal expert ...
 
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germanbeer007 said:
average apple basher: "YEAH! Apple should pay up!"

also average apple basher: "WHY is Apple Watch Series 12 increasing prices now???????? SO GREEDY!!!!"

love it.
Click to expand...
1) $634m isn't even pocket change to Apple. They already spent 1/3rd that fighting this lawsuit most likely.
2) Pft, like the 12 would be worth a price hike, assuming it's another phoned in "update" like the 9, 10 and 11 before it.
Not defending this decision, because Masimo is a patent troll, but I'm not going to feel bad for Apple in the slightest considering how poorly they've treated the AW for years, and the despicable way they've Sherlocked features left and right from other companies in the past rather than do the honorable thing and just pay a licensing fee. It's a company, not a religion, and they're gonna win some and lose some.
 
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MrPiper415 said:
It would have been a lot cheaper for Apple - and therefore consumers - had they just paid for the licensing fee, like everyone else.
Click to expand...
Apple 🍎 doesn’t care about it being cheaper as they have the best Lawyers on earth. The ball is in Apple’s court as they will litigate this until the patent expires in 2028, then Apple 🍎 will be the last one laughing 😆
 
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