US Judge Orders Apple to Pay $184 Million in Interest to Masimo

The US District Court for the Central District of California ordered Apple to pay an additional $184 million in interest to Masimo, following a previous $634 million judgment in favor of the latter, according to Chinese website "10jqka".

The case involves heart rate monitoring technology under US Patent No. 10,433,776. The additional interest amount is added to the original judgment, bringing the total amount owed by the defendant to $818 million.

The court stated that in calculating the interest, it applied Masimo's borrowing rate rather than the 7 percent rate requested in the case. This difference in the interest benchmark is calculated based on the actual borrowing cost of the damaged company instead of an assumed general rate. Post-judgment interest is usually calculated on due amounts until payment, making the cost of delay high for the paying party.

Post-judgment interest continues to accrue until actual payment is made. The decision highlights the scale of damages in patent disputes among major tech companies, which could impact how legal risks are assessed for such disputes in the future.

What do these terms mean?

Patent: A legal right granting the inventor exclusive protection for their invention for a set period, allowing them to prevent others from using it.

Post-judgment interest: An additional amount calculated on the compensation from the time the judgment is issued until it is paid, to compensate for the delay in payment.

Borrowing rate: The interest rate a company actually pays when borrowing, sometimes used as a benchmark to calculate judicial interest.

District Court: A US federal trial court that hears civil and criminal cases within a specific geographical jurisdiction.