Medical technology company Masimo has filed a lawsuit against US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) over its decision to let Apple restore the blood oxygen tracking feature on Apple Watches.
Apple has been fighting with Masimo over blood oxygen sensor patents since 2020, and the dispute escalated in December 2023 when the International Trade Commission (ITC) imposed an import ban that forced Apple to disable the feature on US models. Masimo now argues that CBP quietly reversed the ITC restrictions without informing the company, leaving it no chance to review or challenge the ruling. The company said it only learned about the change after Apple announced a “redesigned” pulse oximetry system last week, which shifts blood oxygen calculations from the Watch to the iPhone.
In its complaint, Masimo suggested that Apple benefited from making large investments in the United States after its ITC appeals failed, noting that CBP’s approval for restoring the feature was unusual and inconsistent with the agency’s past practices. The company insists Apple is still infringing its patents, warning that the decision gives Apple an unfair advantage in the US market.
Masimo is asking the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block Apple from reactivating the feature, seeking to reinstate the ITC’s original ruling that required the patent technology to be fully disabled before Apple Watches could be imported into the country.
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