In October, the US International Trade Commission ruled that Apple was in violation of a pulse oximeter patent, which uses light-based technology to read blood-oxygen levels. Masimo, a medical device maker, holds the patent in question.
Other retailers, including Amazon and Best Buy, among others, continue to sell their remaining stock of Apple Watches in stores and online. But the ITC ruling prevents Apple from importing more of the smartwatches to the United States.
The lower priced Apple Watch SE continues to be available for purchase in-stores and online in the United States. And watches will continue to work for customers who purchased the Series 9 and Ultra 2 models before the ban went into effect on December 25, according to the company.
Apple has routinely marketed its smartwatch as a life-saving device, which has helped launch the Apple Watch into the stratosphere, making it the most popular watch sold around the world. But its skirmish with Masimo threatens to undermine that.
On December 18, Apple opted to preemptively begin taking the Series 9 and Ultra 2 versions of the Apple Watch out of stock in anticipation of the ruling kicking in.
“Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers,” the company said in a statement at the time. But Apple (
AAPL) also pledged to “take all measures” to bring the Apple Watch back to US customers soon.
The company may be able to make software tweaks, perhaps changing the way the Watch interacts with the pulse oximeter so that it does not violate Masimo’s patent. But such a change could take time, and there’s no guarantee that the ITC will accept Apple’s potential solution.
Masimo CEO Joe Kiani told CNN he believes Apple deliberately infringed on his company’s patents. But the companies have been at loggerheads for years. In October 2022, Apple filed two patent infringement lawsuits against Masimo.
Although an intervention from the White House did not take place, there is some precedent for a president to overturn the ITC. In 2013, President Barack Obama vetoed an ITC ruling to ban older iPhones and iPads after it determined Apple was in violation of one of Samsung’s patents.
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