The USITC has denied a request by Masimo to reinstate a ban on the Apple Watch, closing its case on alleged blood oxygen patent infringement.
The long-running lawsuit over the Apple Watch has continued, this time with a partial win for Apple. In the latest development, which saw Masimo accuse Apple of infringing on its blood oxygen patents, the medical tech firm was denied a review of a preliminary ruling.
On March 19, the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit backed the original ruling by the International Trade Commission. However, on March 18, the ITC made a ruling that Apple wouldn't have to do anything else to remedy the case.
Masimo moved to try and get the ITC to review that preliminary March ruling, and to reinstate the import ban. On April 17, the ITC declined to review the preliminary ruling and closed the case.
In effect, the ITC has said the "Apple Redesign 2 Watch," which presumably mans Apple's software workaround, doesn't infringe the patents in the ITC's eyes.
In a statement received by AppleInsider, an Apple spokesperson said:
"We thank the ITC for its decision, which ensures we can continue to offer this important health feature to our users. For more than six years, Masimo has waged a relentless legal campaign against Apple, and nearly all of its claims have been rejected. We will always defend our innovations, and remain focused on what we do best: delivering the best products and services in the world for our users."
As previously demonstrated, this is probably not going to be the end of the lawsuit. Masimo is still able to appeal the decision, again at the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit.
The lawsuit so far
The lawsuit began in 2020, when Masimo filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. That was closely followed by a complaint to the ITC in 2021.
The original lawsuit ended with a mistrial in 2023, but the ITC case was won by Masimo the same year. That resulted in a ban on U.S. imports of any infringing Apple Watch.
Apple decided a workaround was a software update, which effectively disabled the blood oxygen feature in the United States. This was enough to convince U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency it wasn't infringing anymore in January 2024.
By November 2025, Masimo won a $634 million verdict in a federal jury trial. Masimo considered it a "significant win," while Apple believed the decision was "contrary to the facts."
