In a surprising turn of events, a federal jury has ruled in favor of Apple in a patent infringement case against Masimo, a medical device company, but the tech giant won't be cashing in on a big payday. The jury awarded Apple the statutory minimum of $250, a far cry from the significant damages often associated with patent infringement cases.

According to Bloomberg Law, Apple's attorney, John Desmarais, told jurors that the company wasn't seeking financial compensation, but rather wanted to stop Masimo from "copying our design." The jury found that Masimo's W1 Freedom and health module, as well as its original charger, infringed on Apple design patents, and that the infringement was willful.

However, Masimo claimed victory, stating that the findings only applied to discontinued products, and that the jury's verdict did not affect its current offerings. The medical device company had originally sued Apple, alleging that the Apple Watch's pulse-oximetry feature, which allows users to measure their blood oxygen levels, infringed on Masimo's patents.

The legal battle between the two companies is ongoing, with Apple appealing an import ban on Apple Watch models with the contested feature. The pulse-oximetry feature has been disabled in the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, and is also missing from the new Series 10, but only in the United States.

The outcome of this case serves as a reminder that patent infringement cases can be complex and unpredictable, even for tech giants like Apple. While the verdict may not have resulted in a significant financial windfall, it highlights the importance of protecting intellectual property in the tech industry.