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Yes—Masimo and its affiliate Cercacor Laboratories won a patent-infringement judgment against Apple. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered judgment on July 20, 2026, awarding $634,313,913 over Apple’s infringement of claims 11–14 of U.S. Patent No. 10,433,776. The jury had reached its infringement and damages verdict on November 14, 2025.
The judgment says the patent claims were not invalid, but Apple’s infringement was not willful. It is a money judgment—not, by itself, an order banning Apple Watches or disabling their health features.
What Masimo actually won
The plaintiffs were Masimo Corporation and Cercacor Laboratories, Inc.; the defendant was Apple Inc. The case, 8:20-cv-00048-JVS (JDEx), was tried in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
| Issue | Result |
|---|---|
| Patent | U.S. Patent No. 10,433,776 |
| Claims at trial | Claims 11–14 |
| Jury verdict | November 14, 2025 |
| Final judgment | July 20, 2026 |
| Damages | $634,313,913 |
| Validity | Claims 11–14 were found not invalid |
| Willfulness | Apple’s infringement was found not willful |
The court’s final judgment is available at the published judgment. Masimo’s account of the verdict appears in its November 14, 2025 statement.
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What Apple Watch technology was involved?
The litigated claims concern aspects of low-power physiological monitoring in wearable devices. The practical dispute involved Apple Watch versions that provided an alert when the wearer’s heart rate was abnormal under specified conditions. Case analysis describes the claims as covering monitoring and alerting functionality, rather than giving Masimo ownership of “heart monitoring” generally.
That distinction matters because the $634 million case was not the same proceeding as the blood-oxygen dispute. The technical and legal scope came from the particular patent claims tried in this case, as discussed in the RPX case analysis and Knobbe Martens’ case announcement.
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- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
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Verdict versus final judgment
The November 2025 jury verdict
After an eight-day trial, the jury found Apple infringed claims 11–14 and awarded the damages later reflected in the judgment. A jury verdict establishes what the jury decided; it is not the same procedural event as entry of judgment by the court.
The July 2026 court judgment
On July 20, 2026, the court formally entered final judgment for $634,313,913 and recorded that the litigated claims were not invalid. The judgment also states that infringement was not willful. Pre-judgment interest, if any, and post-judgment interest were still being briefed, so the precise amount ultimately payable could change.
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What “not willful” means
The court’s non-willfulness finding means the judgment did not determine that Apple’s infringement was deliberate or egregious. Readers should not treat the award as a finding that Apple intentionally stole Masimo’s technology, nor assume that enhanced damages follow automatically.
Does this ban Apple Watches or affect owners?
Not from this judgment alone. The order awards money for the specific patent infringement; it does not itself impose an import exclusion, recall, sales injunction, or software-removal requirement for every Apple Watch.
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- GET SMARTER HEALTH INSIGHTS—Apple Watch SE 3 is an advanced health tracker that helps you better understand your body. The smartwatch sends alerts for an irregular heart rhythm, or an unusually high or low heart rate.* You can view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app,* track your sleep score, and get sleep apnea notifications.*
- A GREAT FITNESS TRACKER—SE 3 can track your workouts in a healthy number of ways—from running and strength training to simply achieving your 10K steps a day. With real-time metrics and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone,* you’ll hit your goals like never before.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—SE 3 is a smartwatch that can detect a hard fall or severe car crash and automatically help connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- WOMEN’S HEALTH INSIGHTS—SE 3 has advanced sensors that track your wrist temperature while you sleep. With this smartwatch, you can log your periods and symptoms, get period predictions, and get notified of cycle deviations.*
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The companies’ separate blood-oxygen litigation proceeded through the International Trade Commission. Masimo announced an ITC exclusion order concerning certain infringing Apple Watches in that different proceeding; its background is described in Masimo’s ITC announcement. An ITC exclusion order and a federal-court damages judgment are different remedies and should not be combined into one “Apple Watch ban.”
- The judgment does not make an owner’s Apple Watch illegal to use.
- It does not establish that every Apple Watch health feature is affected.
- It does not identify a current model as prohibited from sale solely because of this case.
Did Masimo win every part of the broader dispute?
No. The Apple–Masimo conflict spans multiple patents, trade-secret allegations, ownership and inventorship issues, ITC proceedings, and Apple’s separate design-patent case involving Masimo watches. The July 20 judgment records mixed outcomes beyond the four patent claims: it found for Masimo on two identified trade secrets, denied an injunction and attorneys’ fees, and found for Apple on other trade-secret and patent-related claims.
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- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Accordingly, the final judgment resolves the claims addressed in that case, not every dispute between the companies. The RPX overview places the damages case alongside the other proceedings.
How the dispute fits together
- 2020: Masimo’s California litigation against Apple begins.
- 2023: A trade-secret trial ends in a mistrial.
- November 14, 2025: A jury finds infringement of claims 11–14 and awards $634,313,913.
- July 20, 2026: The district court enters final judgment, confirms the claims were not invalid, and finds no willfulness.
- After judgment: Interest issues remained for briefing, while separate proceedings and any appellate activity required docket-specific confirmation.
What happens next?
The judgment establishes the award, but it does not prove that Apple has already paid or that the matter is unappealable. Interest calculations and any post-judgment motions, stay, amended judgment, or appeal can affect timing and collection. Those developments must be confirmed from later court filings or authoritative company disclosures.
For investors, the immediate verified consequence is a $634,313,913 patent liability entered against Apple, subject to those procedural developments. For consumers, the judgment alone does not require a purchase decision or a change to an Apple Watch already in use.
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