The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced on Friday that it will open a new proceeding to determine whether imports of Apple’s updated Apple Watches should be banned, expanding a long-running patent dispute with medical technology company Masimo, reports Reuters.
The ITC said it will examine whether Apple’s redesigned watches—modified to work around a previous import ban—continue to infringe Masimo’s blood-oxygen monitoring patents. The commission set a target of completing the investigation within six months.
Apple called the case a “meritless attempt” to block its devices’ blood-oxygen feature and accused Masimo of copying its smartwatch design to bolster its claims.
The dispute is part of a broader, multi-front legal battle. Masimo, based in Irvine, California, has accused Apple of poaching employees and misusing its pulse-oximetry innovations. In 2023, the ITC blocked imports of Apple’s Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches after finding patent infringement. Apple removed the blood-oxygen feature to comply, then reintroduced an updated version in August with approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Masimo has sued Customs over that approval, while Apple has separately challenged the ITC’s earlier import ban at the federal appeals court. Masimo is also pursuing additional litigation in California federal court, including patent and trade-secret claims. On Friday, a Santa Ana jury ruled that Apple owes $634 million for infringing a Masimo patent.
A related trade-secret case ended in a mistrial in 2023 after jurors could not reach a verdict. Apple won a symbolic $250 judgment against Masimo in Delaware last year in a countersuit alleging infringement of two Apple design patents.
The new ITC proceeding adds further uncertainty to the escalating fight between the two companies, with potential implications for Apple’s future smartwatch releases.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
