Apple Watch Faces Import Ban Threat as Masimo Patent Battle Heats Up
Apple's wearable dominance hits a snag—U.S. regulators are probing whether the Apple Watch infringes Masimo's blood-oxygen patents. Could this derail the tech giant's smartwatch empire?
The showdown: Masimo claims Apple poached its pulse-oximetry tech, while Cupertino insists its sensors are proprietary. Now the International Trade Commission might block imports of Apple's flagship wearable.
Market tremors: Investors shrug—AAPL shares dipped just 0.3% on the news. Because when you're sitting on $200B cash, legal battles are just another cost of doing business in the innovation thunderdome.
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Apple has pushed back by saying that the case has no merit and that Masimo is just trying to block the Apple Watch’s popular health features. Apple also claimed that Masimo copied its design before filing the complaint. At the same time, Masimo has accused Apple of poaching its employees and stealing its pulse-oximetry technology. The ITC had previously banned imports of Apple’s Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches in 2023, which caused Apple to temporarily remove the blood-oxygen feature and then bring it back in a modified version approved by U.S. Customs. Masimo is now suing Customs over that approval.
Masimo has also taken Apple to federal court in California, accusing it of both patent infringement and trade-secret theft, and is seeking up to $749 million in damages. A jury is currently reviewing those claims. In a separate case last year, a California judge declared a mistrial after jurors couldn’t agree on Masimo’s trade-secret allegations.
Is Apple a Buy or Sell Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 21 Buys, 12 Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AAPL price target of $290.67 per share implies 6.4% upside potential.
