The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has temporarily stayed the International Trade Commission’s exclusion order banning sales and imports of Apple’s Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 into the United States following a call from the tech giant.
Suspending the order allows Apple to resume sales of its smart watches in the United States with the controversial blood oxygen function. Apple said in a statement that its stores began selling the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 on Wednesday, with wider availability on Saturday and through its website on Thursday.
The tech giant was barred from selling and importing its smartwatches after the ITC issued an order in October to protect the medical technology company. Masimowhich sued Apple in 2020 for allegedly poaching its employees and stealing trade secrets related to technology that uses light to measure blood oxygen levels in the Apple Watch.
President Biden had 60 days to review and reverse the ITC order that blocked Apple from selling its watches, but failed to veto the ban before the deadline, set for Christmas Day.
Apple filed an appeal Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. On January 15, the court will hear the company’s motion seeking a stay for the entire appeal period. Until then, the tech giant is free to sell its smartwatches.
Apple said in a statement that it strongly disagrees with the ITC’s ruling and that in addition to the appeal, it is exploring legal and technical options to ensure it can continue to provide its smartwatches to consumers. consumers, for example by submitting a proposal for a redesigned Watch Series 9. and Watch Ultra 2 for US customs approval.
The pause in sales did not affect the Apple Watch SE, an older model of the Apple Watch that does not read blood oxygen levels.
“We are excited to return the full Apple Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year. Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, including blood oxygen, will be available for purchase again in the United States at Apple Stores starting today and on apple.com tomorrow to noon PT, an Apple spokesperson said. MobiHealthNews in an email.
“Apple teams have worked tirelessly for many years to develop technology that provides users with industry-leading health, wellness and safety features, and we are pleased that the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal.
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Apple unveiled its Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 at an event in September with new features allowing users to access and save their health data and control the watch using their index finger and thumb via blood flow sensors.
Masimo has filed more than one lawsuit against the tech giant, and in 2021 filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission which aimed to remove Apple Watches equipped with blood oxygen sensors from the market.
In January, a judge issued a preliminary ruling which revealed that Apple had infringed one of Masimo’s patents.
Apple continued Masimo last year, arguing that its W1 watches infringed Apple’s patents and that Masimo was using lawsuits to shut out competition.
Apple has also fought heart monitoring technology company AliveCor over patent disputes. In 2022, the The ITC ruled that Apple Watches with ECG functionality infringe two patents AliveCor and the Biden administration agreed to leave the decision in force.
