Apple has filed an appeal in a bid to overturn a recent ruling by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), which banned imports of Apple Watches.
The ruling took effect on Dec. 26, and prevents the sale of any Apple Watches that use blood oxygen-sensing technology, a feature which has already been used in smartwatches dating back to the Series 6 in 2020. According to the ITC, this technology infringes a patent belonging to medical monitoring firm, Masimo. The ban includes Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2.
Moreover, the ITC found that Apple infringed two patents owned by Masimo and Cercacor Laboratories Inc. While Masimo accused Apple of hiring its employees, the Biden administration decided not to veto the ruling, effectively allowing the import restriction to remain unchanged.
Apple’s appeal requests that the ban is put on hold, at least until U.S. Customs and Border Protection decides whether the redesigned watches violate Masimo’s patent. The department is expected to make a decision by January 12th, according to a statement released by Apple.
Apple’s primary aim is to have the ban lifted so it can continue operations as usual. Nonetheless, the outcome of this appeal will depend on the decision of the US Customs and Border Protection, which is expected to issue a resolution in the first part of 2022. For now, the future remains uncertain for both Masimo and Apple.
The ITC’s initial ruling was a significant setback for Apple, given the popularity of the smartwatch and the potential competitive advantage that would have been lost if they were unable to utilize the technology going forward. Nonetheless, many argue that Masimo’s patents are overly broad and may be limiting their own growth.
