Apple on Thursday filed a lawsuit against medical tech company Masimo in federal court in Delaware, accusing the company of “copying” its Apple Watch.
The tech giant said in its lawsuit, which was earlier reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, that Masimo copied many of its designs and patents, including health-monitoring technology, case design and chargers.
Masimo largely sells devices for hospitals to manage patient care, and earlier this year it bought Sound United, a holding company whose brands include Denon and Polk Audio. In August, Masimo also announced its release of a health watch, the W1, which includes many similar health sensors the Apple Watch has.
An Apple spokesperson said in a statement that it hoped the suit would “protect the innovations we advance on behalf of our customers.”
Masimo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but it told Reuters that Apple was retaliating. Masimo sued Apple in 2020, claiming the iPhone maker had stolen its trade secrets and infringed its patents, including for measuring heart rate and blood-oxygen levels. Last year, it also asked the US government to halt imports of Apple Watches that violate its patents.
Apple has a long history of facing lawsuits over its technology. Most recently, those suits included a series of patent battles with smartphone rivals Samsung and, separately, Nokia. Apple settled with Samsung in 2018 and Nokia in 2017.
