Overview

• On July 7, attorneys for Apple and Masimo presented oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit over the 2023 ITC exclusion order.
• Apple’s counsel told the three-judge panel that Masimo had no market-ready smartwatch when it filed its 2021 complaint and that hypothetical designs should not trigger an import ban.
• Masimo’s lawyer countered that the ITC properly enforced patents on pulse oximetry technology and that prototypes meet the legal threshold for exclusion.
• Since the ITC ruling, Apple has disabled the blood-oxygen feature in U.S.-sold Series 9 and Ultra 2 models to comply and resume sales.
• The Federal Circuit’s decision, expected later this year, will decide whether Apple can restore full sensor functionality or must pursue a licensing agreement until Masimo’s patents expire in 2028.