Masimo sues feds to stop Apple Watch pulse oximetry restoration

Masimo found out about restoration of pulse oximetry to the Apple Watch the same way that the rest of the world did, and is suing US Customs and Border Protection to stop the process.

The back and forth between Masimo and Apple has been going on since 2020. After years of appeals, it seemed Apple would have to wait until a blood oxygen sensor patent expired in 2028, but then an announcement was made on August 14.

Apple revealed that the blood oxygen detection feature that was banned by the US International Trade Commission due to patent infringement would return imminently. According to a new federal lawsuit filed by Masimo on August 20, covered by Bloomberg Law, that press release was the first Masimo had heard of such a deal.

It seems Apple met with the US Customs and Border Protection on August 1 alone, and a decision was made. Masimo says this violated its Fifth Amendment rights and bypassed all due process.

There's a lot of legal jargon and case issues in this, but the short version is that Apple convinced the CBP that the new system would be enough of a deviation from the ITC order to avoid the ban. The CBP upheld that there was some dispute over this, but instead of agreeing with Apple's suggestion outright, it argued that the decision exceeded its authority entirely now that it included the iPhone in the mix.

So, Masimo has sued the CBP, which is under the Department of Homeland Security, and Kristi Noem is named as a plaintiff. Masimo asked for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block the CBP's August 1 ruling.

Apple has already released the update for iOS and watchOS, beta or not, to re-enable blood oxygen detection. There is no telling exactly what may occur from this renewed lawsuit, but Apple could be forced to pull the feature in a future update.

Masimo suggests a deal was made

There was a portion of the lawsuit that pointed out Apple's significant investment in the United States. While no direct accusations were made, it called out the timeline of being denied appeals in March, announcing new investments in the United States, then being allowed to reactivate a banned feature.

When Masimo requested why a meeting with Apple was taken without Masimo present, it was told that such a meeting can occur in "exceptional circumstances." However, the CBP did not clarify what those circumstances were.

It is unclear where the case will go or how it will affect Apple. It seems that the ITC will likely have to weigh in on Apple's new system that offloads processing to the iPhone before any decision is made.

In the meantime, Apple can likely ship the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 with the blood oxygen feature enabled. Even if a new ban goes into place, the devices already purchased during this hiccup in the ban enforcement may not be affected.