Patent Lawsuits

Apple and Masimo are back in a California court this week for a bench trial that will see Masimo arguing that Apple illegally poached its employees and stole trade secrets when developing the Apple Watch. Masimo first filed the trade secret lawsuit against Apple in 2020, and there was a jury trial in April 2023. During that trial, the court threw out more than half of Masimo's trade secret...

A federal jury Friday ruled that Masimo's smartwatches infringed on Apple Watch patents, but awarded Apple just $250 in damages, which is the statuary minimum amount Apple could seek while it pursues a jury trial rather than a court trial over Masimo's alleged infringements. Masimo's discontinued W1 Freedom smartwatch According to Bloomberg Law, jurors found that the original design for...

A jury for the U.S. District Court for Western Texas on Friday found that the Secure Enclave built into modern Apple devices does not infringe four user verification patents owned by the company "Identity Security LLC," according to Bloomberg Law. Apple introduced the Secure Enclave in 2013 in the iPhone 5s, the first iPhone with Touch ID, and it is now used in all iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple...

Apple has been selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 without the blood oxygen monitoring feature in the U.S. since mid-January, and while we've suspected Apple would be able to reintroduce pulse oximetry in models that lack it through a future software update, new information from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirms that reactivation is indeed a possibility....

The United States Supreme Court today said that it will not hear the VirnetX vs. Apple patent case, putting an end to a 14-year-long legal battle and ultimately saving Apple $502.8 million. As noted by CNBC, with the Supreme Court not weighing in, a March 2023 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will stand, so Apple will not have to pay the damages that VirnetX won...

Following a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals staying the Apple Watch import ban, Apple has returned the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 to its online stores in the U.S., and they should also be available in some Apple retail stores. Apple on Tuesday filed an emergency request asking for the import ban to be paused while an appeal is under way. The appeals court...

Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 are back in some of Apple's retail stores in the United States today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Select stores will have availability today, while all stores will have the Apple Watch models back in stock by December 30. Online sales of the devices are set to resume tomorrow by 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Apple is able to begin selling ...

Apple is now officially unable to sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States as the International Trade Commission's import ban has become final. This morning, the Biden administration announced that it would not veto the ban. The Office of the United States Trade Representative said that after "careful consultations" it was opting not to reverse the ITC's...

The U.S. International Trade Commission today denied Apple's motion to stay a looming Apple Watch ban while Apple files for appeal [PDF via The Verge], which means one avenue avoiding a pause in sales has been exhausted. Apple filed the appeal on October 30, aiming to prevent an import ban from going into effect while an appeal was underway, but the ITC said no to the request. The ITC has...

Masimo CEO Joe Kiani does not believe that Apple will be able to solve its patent infringement issues with software, reports Bloomberg. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Kiani said that a software solution won't work because Masimo patents cover hardware, not software. "I don't think that could work -- it shouldn't -- because our patents are not about the software," said Kiani. Apple is...

Apple engineers are "racing" to change the algorithms used for the blood oxygen sensor in the Apple Watch to avoid having to halt device sales, reports Bloomberg. Apple earlier today said that it will stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States starting on December 21 due to an imminent import ban stemming from a patent dispute with medical device company...

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Thursday ordered a ban on Apple Watch imports into the country after finding that Apple violated pulse oximetry company Masimo's patents with the devices (via Reuters). The ban is now subject to presidential review, so it does not take effect immediately, and Apple can take the ban to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit after...

Apple and its Wi-Fi chip supplier Broadcom have reached an agreement with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), putting an end to a years-long legal battle over wireless communication patents, reports Reuters. The terms of the settlement have not been shared, but Caltech will be dropping its lawsuit against Apple and Broadcom with prejudice, preventing Caltech from refiling in...

The latest legal dispute between Apple and pulse oximetry company Masimo today ended in a mistrial, reports Bloomberg. The jury overseeing the case was not able to come to a final decision in its deliberations, causing U.S. district judge James Selna to declare a mistrial. Six jurors wanted to decide in favor of Apple, but one juror held strong for Masimo, leading to an impasse. Earlier this ...

Apple's legal battle with pulse oximetry company Masimo has been taking place over the course of the last two weeks, but we've heard little about it. The judge overseeing the case sealed some parts of the trial, but legal affairs journalist Meghan Cuniff, who has been following the dispute, today shared some details on what the two sides are arguing over in court. For a refresher, Masimo has ...

Apple has been embroiled in a patent dispute with VirnetX for well over a decade, and the company today won an appeals verdict that could ultimately save it from having to pay VirnetX $502.8 million in patent infringement fees. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday confirmed a ruling by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office invalidating a pair of patents that VirnetX...

The Biden administration has declined to overrule a U.S. International Trade Commission decision that the Apple Watch infringes patents from medical device company AliveCor, potentially paving the way for an import ban on Apple's smartwatch depending on how the appeals process pans out. California-based AliveCor said in a statement that it was informed the Biden administration would not...

Apple infringed on one of medical technology company Masimo's pulse oximeter patents when it launched Apple Watch models that use light sensors to measure the amount of oxygen in the blood, an International Trade Commission (ITC) judge ruled on Tuesday. Masimo, which designs pulse oximetry devices, has been embroiled in an ongoing battle with Apple over several health capabilities found in...

Ericsson today announced it has reached a patent license agreement with Apple that will settle a long-running dispute between the two companies over patents related to cellular technology. The dispute dates back to early 2015 when the two companies sued each other over dozens of Ericsson patents related to cellular technology used in Apple products such as the iPhone and iPad. The...

The United States Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board today invalidated a trio of AliveCor patents that AliveCor used in a complaint with the International Trade Commission, which is a win for Apple. The patents all related to heart rate monitoring technology used in AliveCor products. AliveCor in April 2021 filed a complaint with the ITC alleging that Apple had...