The protracted conflict between Apple and the smart watch manufacturer Masimo implied mutual legal claims between the parties, so it cannot be said that Apple had to act only as a defendant in it. This week, the court ruled that Masimo violated Apple’s rights by selling two models of its watches, and therefore must pay a fine of $250.
Image source: Masimo
There is no typo in this amount; the court in Delaware actually ruled that Masimo owes Apple $250 – this is the minimum fine established by American law for such disputes. The justice authorities concluded that the Masimo W1 and Freedom devices, which have now been discontinued, violated two Apple patents. Representatives of the latter stated that the ultimate goal of this lawsuit was not to obtain monetary compensation, but to impose a ban on the sale of Masimo smartwatches.
However, the court satisfied this claim only partially in this part, not imposing a ban on the sale of Masimo smart watches currently produced, but limiting it to only two discontinued models. The Masimo watch, which is still in production today, does not violate any of Apple’s intellectual property rights, the court ruled. Masimo representatives were satisfied with this court decision, since the sales ban applies only to two discontinued watch models and chargers for them. However, even Apple’s lawyers were satisfied with the court’s verdict, since it proves the ability of the judiciary to “protect the innovations that the company promotes.”
Let us recall that in counterclaims Masimo accuses Apple of not only copying its technologies related to the ability to measure the level of oxygen in the blood of a smartwatch user, but also of poaching specialists. Rival Apple last year managed to persuade US regulators to ban the import of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches into the US, after their developer was found guilty of violating Masimo’s patent rights. Apple was able to resume sales of these watches in the United States only after software disabling the controversial functionality. Masimo had to face several countersuits from Apple, one of which accused the company of using legal claims to promote its own products to Apple’s detriment.