A US judge has ruled Apple is guilty of breaking one of five patents owned by medical giant Masimo who own Sound United, now Apple is facing a shipment ban on their popular Apple Watch.
In June 2021, Masimo filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) asking it to halt imports of the Apple Watch Series 6 because of infringements relating to their pulse oximeter patents.
On Tuesday, a US judge ruled that Apple has broken one of patents which means the Cupertino-based giant runs the risk of getting a ban on the sale of the Apple Watch Series 6 and models that came after in the US market.
Picture shows new Masimo watch that is set to be launched in Australia this year.
Shares of Masimo gained 5.6% during after-hours trading on Jan 10, following the favorable court ruling. The company’s shares have gained 16.4% in the past six months compared with the industry’s increase of 2.8%.
Apple were found not guilty of four other charges.
Another problem for Apple is that Apple CEO Tim Cook is now fighting having to not appear in court to explain his involvement in the theft of the Masimo patents.
Masimo who acquired Sound United in 2020 got a favourable ruling against Former Masimo Chief Technical Officer Dr. Marcelo Lamego who late last year was found guilty of stealing Masimo patents and then selling them to Apple.
Investigations are currently taking place as to the relationship between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Dr. Marcelo Lamego with a March Court case in the USA set to call Cook to the stand.
Seen above Masimo CEO Joe Kiani
Late yesterday, CEO Joe Kiani claimed, that this judgement was “first step towards accountability.”
“Today’s decision should help restore fairness in the market. Apple has similarly infringed on other companies’ technologies, and we believe today’s ruling exposes Apple as a company that takes other companies’ innovations and repackages them,” Kiani added.
Apple is looking for a full review by the Commission since it does not agree to the ruling.
Currently, Masimo is also planning to take on Apple with a “real health and fitness” watch to fill the void of “accurate and continuous health tracking” in the market.
