Though the patent at issue in the California lawsuit has expired, the ITC proceeding—which centers on two still-active Masimo patents involving light-based blood-oxygen measurement—could hit Apple’s sales by constraining Apple Watch functionality, Stanford Law School professor Mark Lemley said.

“The amounts of money here are large,” he said, “but they are probably less important than the possibility of shutting down Apple Watch features,” as the ITC did in December 2023, forcing the tech giant to design a work-around to restart shipments.