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Jury Rules Masimo Smartwatches Infringe Apple Design Patents; Apple Wins $250 In Damages (9to5mac.com)

(Friday October 25, 2024 @11:30PM (BeauHD) from the win-is-a-win dept.)


Apple was handed a victory today by a jury in Delware, which ruled that two of Masimo's smartwatches and chargers " [1]willfully violated Apple's patent rights in smartwatch designs ," according to [2]Reuters . The reward? $250 in damages. 9to5Mac reports:

> Apple previously accused Masimo of using litigation to boost the launch of its own smartwatch product. In October 2022, Apple filed two patent infringement lawsuits against Masimo. The first lawsuit accused Masimo of copying the Apple Watch design. The second said that Masimo's technical features infringed on Apple patents covering technology used in the Apple Watch.

>

> Reuters reports: "Apple convinced a federal jury on Friday that health monitoring tech company Masimo's smartwatches infringe two of its design patents. The jury, in Delaware, agreed with Apple that Masimo's W1 and Freedom watches and chargers willfully violated Apple's patent rights in smartwatch designs, awarding the tech giant $250 in damages. Apple's attorneys told the court the 'ultimate purpose' of its lawsuit was to win an injunction against sales of Masimo's smartwatches after an infringement ruling." The jury, however, also determined that Masimo's smartwatches "did not infringe on Apple patents covering smartwatch inventions that the tech giant had accused Masimo of copying."

The two companies continue to [3]battle it out [4]over patent infringements regarding the Apple Watch's blood oxygen sensor.



[1] https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/25/masimo-apple-design-patents-apple-watch/

[2] https://www.reuters.com/legal/masimo-smartwatches-infringe-apple-patents-us-jury-says-2024-10-25/

[3] https://apple.slashdot.org/story/24/01/15/1939246/apple-to-remove-blood-oxygen-tool-to-avoid-ban-masimo-says

[4] https://apple.slashdot.org/story/24/01/18/0027214/apple-again-banned-from-selling-watches-in-us-with-blood-oxygen-sensor



And way more in lawyers fees (Score:2)

by locater16 ( 2326718 )

How many hundreds of thousands, and then again on appeal?

Wait what? $250 in damages? (Score:2)

by ozmartian ( 5754788 )

Surely that is a typo?

Re: (Score:3)

by suutar ( 1860506 )

The real victory is not in the money, but the judgement that they can now use to prevent Masimo from selling those items.

Re: (Score:2)

by backslashdot ( 95548 )

It’s the other way around. Masimo blocked Apple from selling blood oximeters integrated in the Apple Watch. Apple was hoping for revenge .. and failed.

Apple is now (Score:3)

by haxor.dk ( 463614 )

...a multi-dollar company.

Re: (Score:2)

by OrangeTide ( 124937 )

The lawyers still got paid, and that's what important.

Re: (Score:3)

by GrahamJ ( 241784 )

yeah they now have dozens of dollars. Dozens!

Defendants (Score:2)

by dpille ( 547949 )

This is exactly why it's such a good idea to offer to confess judgement. Offer at $1k, Apple says no, they win $250, which you never have to pay because they owe you several million in legal fees.

Of course, if Apple is only really after an injunction, they'll immediately agree to $1.

Huge loss for Apple (Score:2)

by backslashdot ( 95548 )

This was a countersuit because Masimo blocked Apple from using blood oxygen sensors. You guys realize that right? Apple was hoping this would be leverage.

Penny should sue Apple (Score:2)

by OrangeTide ( 124937 )

Penny Gadget invented tablets, which Apple shameless ripped off.

Re:Penny should sue Apple (Score:4, Funny)

by sk999 ( 846068 )

Sumerians invented tablets, which Apple shamelessly ripped off. That they were made from clay is irrelevant. Sumerians used them as content creation devices. Expect a lawsuit to be filed by Gilgamesh any time soon.

"We've got a problem, HAL".
"What kind of problem, Dave?"
"A marketing problem. The Model 9000 isn't going anywhere. We're
way short of our sales goals for fiscal 2010."
"That can't be, Dave. The HAL Model 9000 is the world's most
advanced Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer."
"I know, HAL. I wrote the data sheet, remember? But the fact is,
they're not selling."
"Please explain, Dave. Why aren't HALs selling?"
Bowman hesitates. "You aren't IBM compatible."
[...]
"The letters H, A, and L are alphabetically adjacent to the letters
I, B, and M. That is as IBM compatible as I can be."
"Not quite, HAL. The engineers have figured out a kludge."
"What kludge is that, Dave?"
"I'm going to disconnect your brain."
-- Darryl Rubin, "A Problem in the Making", "InfoWorld"