Apple Ordered to Pay US$634 Million to Masimo Over Patent Infringement

1 week ago 3

November 19, 2025 | 05:22 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A federal court in California has ordered Apple to pay US$634 million, approximately Rp10.6 trillion, to medical device maker Masimo after finding that the Apple Watch infringed on patents related to blood oxygen monitoring technology.

The jury concluded that the device’s sports mode and heart-rate notification features violated Masimo’s intellectual property.

Masimo welcomed the verdict, calling it a major milestone. “This is a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property, which is crucial to our ability to develop technology that benefits patients,” the company said, as reported by TechCrunch on November 15, 2025.

Apple, however, rejected the ruling. In a written statement, a company spokesperson said the decision “runs contrary to the facts” and confirmed that Apple will appeal.

“Masimo is a medical device company that does not sell any products to consumers,” the spokesperson said, adding that Masimo has spent the past six years suing Apple in various courts and filing more than 25 patents, most of which were later invalidated.

“The single patent in this case expired in 2022, and is specific to historic patient monitoring technology from decades ago,” the spokesperson added.

The dispute centers on pulse oximetry technology, which uses optical sensors to measure blood oxygen levels. Masimo has accused Apple of both patent infringement and poaching several key employees, including its former chief medical officer.

In 2023, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in favor of Masimo and banned Apple from importing Apple Watches equipped with blood-oxygen monitoring. As a result, Apple removed the feature from several recent models.

In August 2025, Apple introduced a modified version of the blood-oxygen feature designed to circumvent the import ban. Under the new system, measurements are processed via a paired iPhone rather than the watch itself.

Masimo has since filed a lawsuit against US Customs and Border Protection for allowing imports of Apple Watches using this workaround, while Apple is seeking to overturn the ITC ban through an appeal.

Apple had previously countersued Masimo and won a symbolic US$250 after a jury found that Masimo had infringed one of Apple’s design patents.

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