US court upholds rulings for Apple in Masimo smartwatch patent fight

Sept 12 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) convinced a U.S. appeals court on Tuesday to uphold U.S. Patent Office tribunal decisions invalidating parts of about a dozen patents owned by health-monitoring company Masimo (MASI.O) in their dispute over Apple Watch technology, including patents that Masimo has accused the tech giant of infringing.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed that the relevant parts of Masimo's patents were invalid based on earlier publications that disclosed the same inventions. The patents are related to the use of light to measure biomarkers like heart rates and blood-oxygen levels.

Masimo persuaded the Federal Circuit to reverse a Patent Office decision that canceled parts of one of the patents.

Irvine, California-based Masimo has accused Apple of stealing its technology and incorporating it into multiple Apple Watch models. A jury trial against Apple in California federal court ended with a mistrial in May.

Masimo separately convinced a U.S. International Trade Commission judge in January that Apple Watches infringe one of its patents, in a decision that could lead to an Apple Watch import ban if it is upheld. The ITC's final decision is due in October.

A Masimo spokesperson said the Federal Circuit's decisions do not involve the patents from the ITC case and that its California lawsuit will continue.

Representatives for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decisions.

Apple separately sued Masimo for patent infringement in Delaware federal court. It has called Masimo's legal action a "maneuver to clear a path" for its own competing smartwatch.

The case is Masimo Corp v. Apple Inc, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 22-1631.