Masimo and Cercacor Laboratories have filed several actions against Apple, alleging trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement, in district court and before the International Trade Commission (ITC). While a mistrial ended the first round of litigation before the Central District of California, in the latter forum, the Commission has now reviewed a final initial determination (ID) of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), finding that Apple has violated Section 337 by importation of Apple Watches with pulse oximetry measurement functionality that infringe two claims of one Masimo patent and three claims of another, none of which, per the Commission, have been proven invalid.

The trade secret portion of the Central District of California case filed by Masimo and Cercacor Laboratories against Apple ended in a mistrial early last week. Hearing evidence for around three weeks and then deliberating for several days, the jury sent out multiple notes to the judge, the fourth of which indicating that it was “not going to be able to come to a joint conclusion” and that it was “ready to stop the whole process with not being able to agree”. District Judge James V. Selna then declared a mistrial. The dispute between these parties, however, is much wider.