Masimo welcomed the Federal Circuit’s ruling to lift the temporary stay on the import ban of certain Apple Watch models.
The decision reinstates the U.S. International Trade Commission’s import ban and cease and desist order on Apple watches that were found to infringe Masimo’s patented pulse oximetry technology.
“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,” said Joe Kiani, founder and CEO of Masimo. “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 has previously made available a study showing that Apple Watch’s pulse oximetry missed over 90% of potentially life-threatening events. The Apple Watch pulse oximeter was not cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for medical use.
The Masimo W1 health watch was recently cleared by the FDA for its indicated medical uses, including continuous pulse oximetry. Masimo’s pulse oximetry technology is used on over 200 million patients in hospitals a year and in clinical trials has been shown to help 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.
