Nov 14 (Reuters) - A federal jury in California said on

Friday that Apple ( AAPL ) owes medical-monitoring technology

company Masimo ( MASI ) $634 million for infringing a patent

covering blood-oxygen reading technology.

The jury agreed with Masimo ( MASI ) that the Apple Watch's workout

mode and heart rate notification features violated Masimo's ( MASI )

patent rights, a Masimo ( MASI ) spokesperson confirmed.

An Apple ( AAPL ) spokesperson said that the company disagrees with

the verdict and will appeal. Masimo ( MASI ), in a statement, called the

verdict "a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our

innovations and intellectual property."

The California lawsuit is one branch of a contentious,

multi-front patent fight between Apple ( AAPL ) and Irvine,

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

its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology to use

in Apple Watches.

The dispute led a U.S. trade tribunal to block imports of

Apple's ( AAPL ) Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in 2023 after finding

that Apple's ( AAPL ) technology infringed Masimo's ( MASI ) patents. Apple ( AAPL )

removed blood-oxygen reading technology from its watches to

avoid the ban and reintroduced an updated version of the

technology in August with approval from U.S. Customs and Border

Protection.

The ITC separately on Friday decided to hold a new

proceeding to determine whether Apple's ( AAPL ) updated watches should

be subject to the ban.

Masimo ( MASI ) has filed an ongoing lawsuit against Customs over the

decision. Apple ( AAPL ) has separately challenged the import ban at a

federal appeals court.

A California judge declared a mistrial in Masimo's ( MASI )

trade-secret case against Apple ( AAPL ) in 2023 after a jury failed to

reach a unanimous verdict. Apple ( AAPL ) won a minimal $250 verdict

against Masimo ( MASI ) in Delaware last year over allegations that

Masimo's ( MASI ) smartwatches infringe two Apple ( AAPL ) design patents.