U.S. Customs and Border Protection Allows Apple to Bypass Apple Watch Ban
In a court filing on Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that Apple can proceed with a redesign that would enable it to bypass the ban on the Apple Watch. The ban was imposed due to a patent dispute with Masimo, a medical-monitoring technology company. The redesigned Apple Watch will not include a pulse oximeter function, which detects blood-oxygen levels.
The ban on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 was initially put into effect on December 26, following a ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC) that found the blood oxygen sensors in both devices infringed on Masimo’s patents. However, Apple was able to temporarily pause the ban on the next day, thanks to an intervention by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Since then, Apple has been selling the watches while contesting the import ruling.
To circumvent the findings of patent infringement, Apple proposed a redesign that has not been publicly described. The company informed the U.S. Customs agency that the redesigned watches would not contain pulse oximetry functionality. The agency’s decision, issued on Friday, has not been released publicly.
Masimo expressed its approval of Apple’s claim that the redesigned watch does not include pulse oximetry. Apple confirmed that the Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches with blood-oxygen reading capabilities are still available.
The legal battle between Apple and Masimo began in 2020 when Masimo accused Apple of stealing trade secrets and infringing its patents related to blood-oxygen level technology. In response, Apple countersued Masimo for patent infringement and claimed that Masimo was trying to use federal authority to promote its own competing smartwatch. Masimo released its W1 watch in 2022.
Masimo requested the ITC to ban Apple’s imports and sales of Apple Watches that allegedly infringed its patents. After an investigation that started in August 2021, the ITC ruled in favor of Masimo, leading to the ban in December.
Apple expects the appeal process to take at least a year, and it anticipates a decision on its request to keep the ban paused as early as Tuesday. The Federal Circuit is currently considering whether to continue the pause or reinstate the ban for Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches without the redesign.
Apple argues that it is likely to win the appeal and that maintaining the ban would cause significant harm to the company, its suppliers, and the public. On the other hand, Masimo claims that maintaining the pause would harm its business and reputation, as well as demoralize its scientists and engineers.
The customs agency’s decision could be overruled if the ITC disagrees with it.
