On Wednesday 27th of December 2023, the United States appeal court paused the government commission’s import ban on the Apple smartwatches, which was forced due to a patent dispute over its medical monitoring technology. Meaning, that Apple can now continue the sales of its newest flagship smartwatches.
This is following the recent patent dispute between Apple and Masimo, which the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled against Apple for patent infringement.
The tech giant, in an act of desperation, filed an emergency request to the U.S. Court of Appeals requesting a stop of the sales ban order.
Masimo accuses Apple of stealing its employees and its “Pulse Oximetry technology” while incorporating it into Apple smartwatches. The “Pulse Oximetry technology” enables smartwatches to read blood-oxygen levels in the human body.
This technology was in use by Apple starting from the Series 6 watches in 2020. Masimo’s legal action is no more than a publicity stunt to create a way for its smartwatches, says Apple in a counter-sue.
According to some analysts, a final decision on this case could cost either company millions of dollars and probably force a settlement or technical workaround by Apple.
“The bigger issue is that this is not a good PR for Apple, which suggests that it’s stealing technology from competitors rather than developing its own. Apple is fighting for the future of its health-wearable products and not just this specific blood oxygen monitoring tech,” said Stuart Cole, a chief macroeconomist at Equiti Capital.
On Wednesday, the appeals court declared it would halt the ban while considering Apple’s motion for a longer-term pause during the process of appeals. The ITC has until January 10, 2024, to respond to Apple’s request, says the Appeals court.
Currently, Apple has halted sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 from its website and retail stores in the United States.
But it’s still available on Amazon, Costco, Walmart and Best Buy. Also, the ban doesn’t affect previously sold watches with or without the pulse oximeter, just the Series 9 and Ultra 2.