Apple's stripping out blood oxygen sensing from Apple Watch enough to skirt import ban

Since the patent does not apply to Canada I sincerely and seriously hope that it’s a US only disabling of the feature. Heck - the US gets features that no-one else does or far ahead of others so it should apply in reverse. P.S. I still think Apple should buy Masimo. Problem solved. 

I am glad. Whether you like or dislike Apple, medical devices should have some exception to other product categories.

That being said, I hope Masimo gets reimbursed for their troubles.

tech_traveller said:

I am glad. Whether you like or dislike Apple, medical devices should have some exception to other product categories.

That being said, I hope Masimo gets reimbursed for their troubles.

So medical devices should be exempt from intellectual property laws? I don’t think so. 

This whole thing is about money. I know that sounds obvious, but what I mean is Apple controls the entire process. They decided it would be more cost-effective to fight it and make changes on the periphery.   They could’ve simply cut a big check to license the technology. Who knows what they want for that. Let’s say they wanted $250 million. That’s a core technology for them and the company has a market cap of a little over 6 billion. Apple likely figured that fighting it in court and making changes would cost less.  Let’s say 50 million.  Ultimately, Apple will win either way. They’re not simply going to tuck their tail between their legs and not sell the Apple Watch anymore. If push comes to shove, could buy Masimo 30 times over just with its cash-on-hand.  

tech_traveller said:

I am glad. Whether you like or dislike Apple, medical devices should have some exception to other product categories.

That being said, I hope Masimo gets reimbursed for their troubles.

Masimo has become a bit of a troll and it seems the ITC has over reached on their decision.

From iMore, Florian Mueller is a  patent expert and legal expert has written, “Apple sometimes engages in bullying, but the ITC’s attack is gratuitous, disingenuous and irresponsible,” noting the ITC’s own record shows that Apple created the disputed pulse oxymetry technology independently and that Masimo “tactically designed the patents-in-suit after Apple’s independent innovation, and more than 10 years after the original applications, in order to read on the relevant Apple Watch feature.”

I think Masimo should get 'rewarded' for the trouble they have caused themselves and their shareholders LOL. They have spent 100 million on this and they only make 120 million a year in profit!

Anilu_777 said:

Since the patent does not apply to Canada I sincerely and seriously hope that it’s a US only disabling of the feature. Heck - the US gets features that no-one else does or far ahead of others so it should apply in reverse. P.S. I still think Apple should buy Masimo. Problem solved. 

It’s an import ban for products going into the USA. It won’t affect Watches not sold in the USA. 

Apple should not buy Masimo. They do not offer anything of value for Apple. I know a lot of people respond with buying out a patent troll, but all that does is reward the C-suite and major stockholders. The regular workers have a rather high risk of buying laid off. 

Apple and Masimo are still in court over this. If Apple invalidates the patents or proves they don’t infringe, the feature comes back to US watches. In the meanwhile they will redesign the feature for future Watches. 

I think the odds are good that Masimo will sue Apple for AirPods doing this or that. We will see.