Masimo Sues US Customs Over Apple Watch Import Approval

Masimo has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Customs over the approval of importing Apple Watches with blood oxygen monitoring features. The lawsuit challenges a decision that allows Apple to bypass an import ban imposed by the U.S. International Trade Commission. The move highlights ongoing tensions between the two companies over patent rights, with Masimo shares falling 1.1% in early U.S. trading.

Masimo Corp. has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Washington, D.C., federal court, challenging the agency's decision to approve the import of Apple Watches equipped with blood-oxygen monitoring technology. The move comes amidst an ongoing patent dispute between the two companies, with Masimo alleging that CBP wrongly reversed its prior ruling from last year, which had restricted such imports, without notifying Masimo or justifying the change [1].

The lawsuit comes just days after Apple Inc. announced it would reintroduce the blood-oxygen reading feature to its smartwatches, following a ruling from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Masimo argues that CBP exceeded its authority by creating what it calls "loopholes" in an existing International Trade Commission (ITC) exclusion order that had blocked imports of Apple's Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches due to patent infringement [2].

Masimo has accused Apple of poaching employees and stealing trade secrets to integrate the feature into the Apple Watch, and has multiple lawsuits pending against Apple for patent infringement and trade secret theft. Apple has continued to sell redesigned watches in the U.S. without the blood-oxygen function, while unaffected models remained available internationally [2].

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal battles between the two companies, with Masimo seeking to block the CBP ruling and reinstate the block on Apple Watches with blood-oxygen tracking. Apple's stock dropped 1.97% during regular trading and slipped an additional 0.18% in after-hours trading following the lawsuit [2].

References:
[1] https://macdailynews.com/2025/08/21/masimo-sues-u-s-customs-and-border-protection-over-apple-watch-import-approval/
[2] https://www.benzinga.com/markets/tech/25/08/47252149/apple-restores-blood-oxygen-tracking-to-watch-after-customs-ruling-masimo-strikes-back-with-lawsuit-over-patent-rights