A patent dispute between Apple and medical technology company Masimo has ended in a mistrial. A court jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict after hearing Masimo’s case accusing Apple of stealing trade secrets and patent infringement.
In 2013, Apple approached Masimo with an interest in establishing a “partnership” with Masimo, a company that specializes in medical devices such as pulse oximeters, whose technology is widely used in hospitals and clinics. During their meeting, Masimo revealed details of its pulse oximetry technology. Apple then began poaching Masimo employees, including Masimo’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Michael O’Reilly, and in 2020, Masimo filed a formal lawsuit accusing Apple of stealing trade secrets and infringing on ten of the company’s patents in the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen sensor.
Later that year, Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 6 with blood oxygen detection, and the dispute between the two companies escalated when Masimo asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban imports of the watch. But that attempt failed, and the court ruled earlier this year that Apple had only infringed on one of the patents. Apple is now trying to overturn the ruling, with the final outcome to be announced next month, and Apple has also fought back, accusing Masimo of making a clone of the Apple Watch.
In the current patent battle, a judge has dismissed five infringement charges brought by Masimo, leaving the remaining five to a jury. According to Bloomberg, six of the seven jurors found that Apple did not infringe any patents, but one juror held the opposite opinion. The jury ultimately found it could not reach a unanimous verdict and reported the situation to the judge. U.S. District Judge James Selna declared the case null and void on Monday afternoon.
Masimo said it was disappointed with the outcome and intends to file for a new trial. Apple, for its part, said it was satisfied with the partial victory and said it respects intellectual property and innovation and does not steal or use confidential information from other companies. Apple also said it will ask the court to dismiss the remaining charges.
Masimo revealed that Apple had planned to buy the company, but was turned down by Apple CEO Tim Cook. Apple, in turn, sent “many employees involved in the sensor project” to testify that they did not use Masimo’s technology when developing the blood oxygen sensor for the Apple Watch.
