Apple just dodged another Watch import ban

Another courtroom swing, another Apple grin

Apple got a regulatory lifeline on Friday when the U.S. International Trade Commission decided not to reopen a ruling that said Apple’s redesigned Watches don’t infringe Masimo’s blood-oxygen patents. Translation: Masimo’s latest try to block imports got swatted away.

Why this matters for your portfolio

If you own Apple, the big worry here wasn’t just legal drama for drama’s sake. An import ban on key Watch models would have been a nasty little pothole for a product line that helps keep Apple’s wearables business humming. Instead, Apple can keep selling the redesigned watches in the U.S. without that ban hanging over its head.

The catch: this saga isn’t over

Masimo still has an escape hatch. It can appeal to the Federal Circuit, and it’s also still chasing Apple in parallel litigation, including a California patent case where Masimo won a $634 million verdict that Apple plans to fight.

Apple, for its part, already changed how the blood-oxygen feature works after the 2023 import ruling — moving some of the heavy lifting to paired devices like the iPhone. So this is less “case closed” and more “same courtroom, next episode.”

Big picture: Apple got the kind of legal win investors like — the kind that keeps a product on sale and avoids a headline you definitely don’t want to see before lunch.