Apple watch patent row: As US upholds ban on sale, tech giant might disable oxygen display in some devices
Apple is engaged in a patent battle with a smaller company Masimo over the pulse oxymeter feature.
Your Apple Watch might just be shorn off one of its key features: the blood oxygen level display. A US court on Thursday (Jan 17) upheld a ban on the sale of Apple watches, allegedly infringing on a patent related to this medical technology.
The dispute involves a smaller company which claims to have introduced the feature.
Blood oxygen levelis a key feature used by those wearing Apple Watches, particularly fitness enthusiasts, and is very useful in medical situations.
On the other sideof the patent dispute is Masimo,a health technology and consumer electronics company based in Irvine, California.
The Cupertino, California-based giant was earlier allowed to sell Series 9 and Ultra 2as the patent case was continuing.
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However, as per the court ruling, the models facing the dispute cannot be imported from 5:00 PM local time on Thursday.
Apple reacts to court ruling on smartwatch
On Thursday, Apple, which "strongly disagreed" that it violated patents, hinted it might disable the oximeter feature.
"Pending the appeal, Apple is taking steps to comply with the ruling while ensuring customers have access to Apple Watch with limited disruption," it said in a release.
Masimo,a health technology and consumer electronics company based in Irvine, California, reacted to the ruling in a press release, with its CEO sharing on X that the ruling was a "victory for American innovation".
“The Federal Circuit's decision to lift the temporary stay is a victory for the integrity of the American patent system and the safety of people relying on pulse oximetry,” a Masimo release quoted Kiani as saying.
“It affirms that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and must deal with the consequences when they are caught infringing others’ patents.”
Masimo's allegations against Apple on patent infringement
Masimo claimed in its release that the company hadearlier made available a study showing that Apple Watch’s pulse oximetry missed over 90 per centof potentially life-threatening events.
"The Apple Watch pulse oximeter was not cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration for medical use," Masimo claimed in the releasewhile adding thatthe Masimo W1 health watch "was recently cleared by the FDA for its indicated medical uses, including continuous pulse oximetry".
Masimo said in its release that its pulse oximetry technology "is used on over 200 million patients in hospitals a year".
According to the company, the feature helped save babies’ eyesight in the neonatal ICU, detect critical congenital heart defects in newborns and save the lives of patients in post-surgical wards who are taking opioids.
Masimo and sister company Cercacor claimed that Apple poached its key staff, and accused the tech giant of stealing its blood oxygen level detection technology.
The US trade commission agreed to some of these claims lastOctober and banned imports and sales of some of the Apple Watch models. But this ban was halted as hearings were going on Apple's appeal.
Most versions of Apple's watches, including the Series 9 and Ultra 2, have included the feature since 2020, BBC said in a report, adding some models do not have the feature.
(With inputs from agencies)
