Khaberni - The US International Trade Commission decided on Friday to hold a new hearing to determine whether the import of updated Apple watches should be banned, as part of a new ruling in a patent dispute with Masimo, a company specializing in medical monitoring technologies.
The Commission stated in an order that it would check whether the Apple watches, redesigned to avoid a previous import ban issued by the Commission, still violate Masimo's patents related to blood oxygen level measurement technology.
The Commission aims to conclude this investigation within six months, according to Reuters.
Masimo also sued Apple in a separate case in federal court in California on charges of patent infringement and trade secret theft. A jury decided in a separate ruling on Friday that Apple must pay $634 million in damages for violating Masimo's patent.
Apple said that the case was a baseless attempt to ban the blood oxygen measuring feature in its smartwatches, and that "Masimo" had copied its watch design to lodge the complaint.
The California lawsuit is one side of a heated multi-front patent dispute between "Apple" and "Masimo," headquartered in Irvine, California, which accused "Apple" of poaching its employees and stealing its blood oxidation measuring technology for use in Apple smartwatches.
In 2023, the Commission banned the importation of Apple smart watches from the "Series 9" and "Ultra 2" models after proving a violation of "Masimo" patents. Apple removed the blood oxygen reading technology from its watches to avoid the ban, and reintroduced an updated version of the watches with modified technology in August with approval from the US Customs and Border Protection.
Masimo filed a lawsuit against Customs regarding this approval, while Apple separately appealed the Commission's ban in a federal appellate court. In 2023, a judge in California announced the failure of the trial in a trade secret case brought by "Masimo" against "Apple" after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. In contrast, Apple achieved a minor win of $250 against "Masimo" in Delaware last year regarding allegations that Masimo's smart watches infringed on two of Apple’s design patents.
