SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Apple ( AAPL ) will bring a

blood oxygen measurement feature to some of its watch models via

a software update after receiving approval from the U.S.

government amid a protracted legal dispute over the technology,

it said on Thursday.

The move will allow users of Apple Watch Series 9, Series

10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States to view their

blood oxygen levels on a paired iPhone.

It comes after years of legal wrangling with Irvine,

California-based Masimo ( MASI ), which has accused Apple ( AAPL ) of hiring its

employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology after

discussing a potential collaboration.

Masimo ( MASI ) won a ruling at the U.S. International Trade

Commission to block imports of watches with the feature, which

prompted Apple ( AAPL ) to remove the feature and set off a lengthy

appeals process.

The watch models affected Thursday did not have the blood

oxygen feature when shipped, but Apple ( AAPL ) said U.S. Customs had

approved the software update.

With the update, a user can start a session in the blood

oxygen app on Apple Watch, and the Apple Watch sensors will

collect data that will be used by the iPhone to calculate and

display the levels, Apple ( AAPL ) said.

Apple ( AAPL ) first introduced pulse oximetry in its Series 6 Apple

Watches in 2020. Masimo ( MASI ) released its blood oxygen tracking W1

watch in 2022.

Masimo ( MASI ) convinced the ITC to block imports of Apple's ( AAPL ) Series

9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in 2023, based on the commission's

determination that Apple's ( AAPL ) technology for reading blood oxygen

levels infringed upon Masimo's ( MASI ) patents.

Apple ( AAPL ) temporarily resumed sales of the watches the next day

after persuading the Federal Circuit to pause the ban.

The Federal Circuit reinstated the ban the next month,

leading Apple ( AAPL ) to remove pulse oximetry capabilities from its

watches in the United States.

Masimo ( MASI ) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Additional

reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington and Puyaan Singh in

Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)