Apple sues: calls for the ban on Apple Watch to be lifted as soon as possible

Apple immediately responded to official ban on the import and sale of Apple Watch in the United States. On Tuesday, the company filed an appeal in court and asked that the veto be lifted while Customs reviews the case.

“We strongly disagree with the US ITC’s decision and the resulting exclusion order,” Apple said in a statement. “We are taking all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 customers in the USA as soon as possible.

Apple has already suspended sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 as a “precautionary” measure. However, there was still a possibility that the White House would veto the ITC’s decision, which accused the company of infringing two patents on the design of the last two watches. The veto was never received and the ban was made official on Tuesday.

ITC specifically accuses Apple of using blood oxygenation technology patented by medical technology company Masimo. In their appeal, Cupertino lawyers emphasize that the company will “suffer irreparable harm” if the models remain on the shelves during the trial.

US Customs and Border Protection plans to make a decision on these models on January 13, 2023. “At a minimum, the court should grant a stay sufficient to allow Customs to make this determination,” Apple argued.

What are the consequences of banning the Apple Watch?

Last year, Masimo released a watch that also reads blood oxygen levels and tracks other health indicators. The company accused Apple of hiring its employees, stealing its technology and incorporating it into the popular Apple Watch. In January of this year, the court ruled in his favor. The ITC had already issued a ban order in October last year. Apple asked the commission to correct the measure, but the commission rejected the request.

The California company was working on a patch for watchOS that would block pulse oximeter functionality on offending devices. However, Masimo clarified that the patent infringement occurred at the hardware level. Therefore, they insisted that the conflict would not be resolved with a software update.

Tim Cook’s team got ahead of the measure, which came into force on Tuesday, and stopped selling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 on its online store on December 21. And on December 24, the day before Christmas, they did the same in their regular stores.

Pulse oximeter functionality was included in Apple Watch starting with the Series 6 model in 2020. The ITC order does not affect the cheaper Apple Watch SE as it does not have pulse oximetry capabilities.

Last year, Apple already had to face a veto of the Apple Watch for violating AlveCor’s rights related to cardiac monitoring. However, the North American Patent and Trademark Office declared the patents reported in the case invalid, and Apple was able to continue selling its smartwatches.