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How is Masimo a competitor? They make medical equipment. The monitoring features of the apple watch are just a small subset of its intended use.

Doctors aren't going to start buying Apple Watches to put on patients to check their vitals instead of approved medical equipment. I don't see how Masimo has a case here; they should be forced to license the patent if it's upheld.
Masimo makes a wearable device so they compete with Apple. If Masimo has a patent they can exclude Apple from using the patented tech. Intended use is irrelevant. That’s what patents are for. The ITC has declined to force Masimo to license the patent. Apple is running out of options but they still have a few left.
 
If Apple did violate a patent, then what does it matter if the product ban results in keeping a potentially lifesaving product off the market for millions of U.S. consumers, or that Masimo will use their patent to make their own watch? That's a red herring.

Why can't/doesnt Apple simply pay Masimo to license the patent?
Because lives are at stake, I tell you! LIVES!!!
 
"Masimo has wrongly attempted to use the ITC to keep a potentially lifesaving product from millions of U.S. consumers while making way for their own watch that copies Apple," an Apple spokesperson said.
So....Apple steals the tech and then says preventing them from profiting from their theft is keeping a lifesaving product from millions? You gotta love evil corporate propaganda.
 
What about fall detection? Crash detection? Low heart rate detection? ECG/EKG? Those sure seem like life saving features to me. The Apple Watch not selling would affect people being able to use those.
So what? That gives a corporation the right to steal? The ends justify the means? If the tables were turned and it was Apple suing someone else over an infringed (“life saving”) patent, would you side with that company and tell Apple to pound sand? I doubt it.
 
Just knowing how ruthless Apple is in general, my gut instinct is that they're in the wrong.

As far as being a lifesaving product, the oxygen saturation meter on the Apple Watch is treacherously inaccurate.

I have an 02 of 88-92% at sea level.

I just completed a cross country move where I had to reach altitude of 8,000 feet while being driven (you surprisingly cannot avoid altitude no matter which way you drive across the US but 8,000 feet is about the minimum along I-40; 8,000 feet is also what airplanes are pressurized to).

I had a Masimo MightySat, a cheap back up pulse oximeter, and my Series 7 Apple Watch.

When I wasn't on supplemental oxygen, the Masimo and my cheap Amazon back-up pulse ox would show my oxygen going down to 82%.

The Apple Watch Series 7 continuously showed either normal oxygen saturation or inability to read the oxygen saturation.

It's a junk product not fit for purpose of measuring oxygen saturation and should be off the market for that purpose, unless all you want it to do is show you have normal oxygen saturation. Which makes it just a dangerous gimmick.

Apple sold Masimo products in its stores, and it's very typical of them to bring a smaller company into the fold before stabbing them in the back.
Then your Apple watch is probably defective, or there is something like a scratch on the lens blocking the light path. Measuring oxygen levels isn't technically difficult - you just bounce red light off of blood - the brighter red the blood is, the more O2. The one thing all pulse oximeters struggle with is darker skin, which absorbs the light before it reaches the blood, so that can be a reason for inability to take a reading if weak LED's are used.
 
So....Apple steals the tech and then says preventing them from profiting from their theft is keeping a lifesaving product from millions? You gotta love evil corporate propaganda.
Well, to be fair, Apple is trying to lean on a legal provision that is available to the ITC. I don't blame them for trying to persuade the ITC, rather than rolling over and accepting the exclusion order.

19 U.S. Code § 1337

(d)Exclusion of articles from entry
(1)
If the Commission determines, as a result of an investigation under this section, that there is a violation of this section, it shall direct that the articles concerned, imported by any person violating the provision of this section, be excluded from entry into the United States, unless, after considering the effect of such exclusion upon the public health and welfare, competitive conditions in the United States economy, the production of like or directly competitive articles in the United States, and United States consumers, it finds that such articles should not be excluded from entry.
 
How is Masimo a competitor? They make medical equipment. The monitoring features of the apple watch are just a small subset of its intended use.

Doctors aren't going to start buying Apple Watches to put on patients to check their vitals instead of approved medical equipment. I don't see how Masimo has a case here; they should be forced to license the patent if it's upheld.
That has got to be the stupidest thing I've read in a long time.
 
Well, to be fair, Apple is trying to lean on a legal provision that is available to the ITC. I don't blame them for trying to persuade the ITC, rather than rolling over and accepting the exclusion order.

19 U.S. Code § 1337

(d)Exclusion of articles from entry
(1)
If the Commission determines, as a result of an investigation under this section, that there is a violation of this section, it shall direct that the articles concerned, imported by any person violating the provision of this section, be excluded from entry into the United States, unless, after considering the effect of such exclusion upon the public health and welfare, competitive conditions in the United States economy, the production of like or directly competitive articles in the United States, and United States consumers, it finds that such articles should not be excluded from entry.

Thanks for posting that-- it's really helpful context for what otherwise seemed like an attempt at diversion. It's still not a denial, but I think what you've shown is that Apple has two fronts to argue on-- an appeal on the infringement claim and an effort to avert the import ban on non IP related grounds.
 
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Just knowing how ruthless Apple is in general, my gut instinct is that they're in the wrong.

As far as being a lifesaving product, the oxygen saturation meter on the Apple Watch is treacherously inaccurate.

I have an 02 of 88-92% at sea level.

I just completed a cross country move where I had to reach altitude of 8,000 feet while being driven (you surprisingly cannot avoid altitude no matter which way you drive across the US but 8,000 feet is about the minimum along I-40; 8,000 feet is also what airplanes are pressurized to).

I had a Masimo MightySat, a cheap back up pulse oximeter, and my Series 7 Apple Watch.

When I wasn't on supplemental oxygen, the Masimo and my cheap Amazon back-up pulse ox would show my oxygen going down to 82%.

The Apple Watch Series 7 continuously showed either normal oxygen saturation or inability to read the oxygen saturation.

It's a junk product not fit for purpose of measuring oxygen saturation and should be off the market for that purpose, unless all you want it to do is show you have normal oxygen saturation. Which makes it just a dangerous gimmick.

Apple sold Masimo products in its stores, and it's very typical of them to bring a smaller company into the fold before stabbing them in the back.
I don’t know, sounds like pretty good proof they didn’t steal Masimo technology to me.
 
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I can't imagine any patent being given for light-based pulse oximetry. Any hobbyist could build such a system, albeit not in miniaturised form. There is an issue about how the US grants patents.
The circuitry is simple. It’s the detection algorithm that does the magic. That is what Apple is accused of pilfering. This has happened frequently in the medical equipment business. Now it’s Apple’s turn.
 
As we all know, high-flying aircraft are pressurized to hold the cabin pressure at 8,000 feet. That's a pretty low pressure compared to sea level obviously. Has anyone checked the Apple Watch blood oxygen app while climbing, at cruise altitude, and descending? Just wondering, thought it might be interesting.
I was on a 787 Dreamliner a few days ago and my watch put the altitude at 6000 feet.
 
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Then your Apple watch is probably defective, or there is something like a scratch on the lens blocking the light path. Measuring oxygen levels isn't technically difficult - you just bounce red light off of blood - the brighter red the blood is, the more O2. The one thing all pulse oximeters struggle with is darker skin, which absorbs the light before it reaches the blood, so that can be a reason for inability to take a reading if weak LED's are used.
There are several sites that are used for pulse oximetry in addition to the finger. The nose, forehead are often used with special sensors. After working with pulse oximetry devices since they were developed, I just don’t see the back of the wrist as an ideal site. And as you indicated, skin tone can affect readings.
 
The circuitry is simple. It’s the detection algorithm that does the magic. That is what Apple is accused of pilfering. This has happened frequently in the medical equipment business. Now it’s Apple’s turn.
Detection is not that complicated either IMO. I built a miniaturised pulse oximeter from scratch in my lab. if the signal is clear and the filtering is done properly, it's a dawdle to measure SpO2, pulse rate, etc. compared to other biological signals. Most of it seems blindingly obvious to me, but I am unfamiliar with the patents in question so I suppose I could be wrong.
 
There are several sites that are used for pulse oximetry in addition to the finger. The nose, forehead are often used with special sensors. After working with pulse oximetry devices since they were developed, I just don’t see the back of the wrist as an ideal site. And as you indicated, skin tone can affect readings.
I have often wondered why the ventral side of the wrist wasn't used, where there is less pigment. The sensors could be embedded in watch bands.
 
Apple has enough money to have found a legal and equitable solution to this problem. The fact they’re fighting it out in court instead is testament to their continued brazen attitude towards a competitive ecosystem.
 
Because of patent trolls, and their ability to gain legal standing and favorable judgements, I have lost all faith in patent litigation. Very few people have any clue as to the validity of the patent infringement litigation. Most people simply run the case through the filter of their biases and spout opinions based on that.


Anti-capitalism? Apple is guilty.
Anti-big business? Apple is guilty.
Anti-Apple? Apple is guilty.
Apple Fanboy? Apple is not guilty.

I wish we had a good source for unbiased and knowledgable legal opinions on cases like this. If anyone knows one, please let me know.
No. Massimo is NOT a patent troll.

They have had medical products sold and in use for years and their PulseOX tech is very well known in the industry.

Keep in mind I’m no fan of Massimo but they’re definitely not patent trolls.
 
apple figured after a risk analysis the legal cost of being sued by a small company would be less then the revenue generated by the watch sales. shareholders greed at its best. end of the day never blame ceos but the shareholders ie..the public since ceos duty is to generate profits for them. if tim cook did not do it he would be fired for not doing his job.
 
The circuitry is simple. It’s the detection algorithm that does the magic. That is what Apple is accused of pilfering. This has happened frequently in the medical equipment business. Now it’s Apple’s turn.
The two Masimo patents do not relate to the detection algorithm, just the watch hardware.
 
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