Masimo suit against Apple over smartwatch trade secrets ends in mistrial

Dive Brief:

A federal district court judge in California on Monday declared a mistrial in Masimo's lawsuit accusing Apple of trade secret theft, after a jury failed to reach a verdict. Masimo shares fell 4% to $181.50 in Tuesday morning trading.
The maker of patient monitoring devices had accused Apple of improperly using its confidential information for health applications in the Apple Watch and sought more than $1.8 billion in damages.
Apple, in an emailed statement, said it planned to file a motion asking the judge to dismiss the remaining claims in the case. U.S. District Judge James Selna, in California’s Central District, dismissed five trade secret misappropriation claims after hearing evidence in the four-week trial.

Dive Insight:

The mistrial in federal court in California comes as the International Trade Commission (ITC) is investigating accusations by Masimo that Apple infringed its pulse oximetry patents in certain Apple Watches for measuring oxygen saturation.

In an initial determination in January, an ITC judge found Apple infringed a Masimo patent in violation of the Tariff Act.

The full ITC commission is expected to vote later this month on whether to review the initial determination, which would then be followed by a vote on whether to affirm the initial decision, BTIG analyst Marie Thibault wrote in a research note.

If the full commission affirms the initial determination, the decision would then go to President Biden for a 60-day presidential review period that could result in an injunction banning certain Apple watches from being imported into the U.S., Thibault said.

In a statement emailed to MedTech Dive, a Masimo spokesperson said the company would pursue a retrial of the case heard in California federal court.

“While we are disappointed that the jury was unable to reach a verdict, we intend to retry the case and continue to pursue legal redress against Apple,” the spokesperson said.

Apple, in its statement, denied it used confidential information from Masimo.

“We thank the jury for their careful consideration in this case. We deeply respect intellectual property and innovation and do not take or use confidential information from other companies,” Apple said.