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Apple Urges US Appeals Court to Overturn ITC's Apple Watch Import Ban Amidst Masimo Dispute

Apple Urges US Appeals Court to Overturn ITC's Apple Watch Import Ban Amidst Masimo Dispute

Apple previously disabled pulse oximetry features from select smartwatch models sold during the appeal period, which could last for at least a year.

By Reuters | Updated: 6 April 2024 13:39 IST

Apple Urges US Appeals Court to Overturn ITC's Apple Watch Import Ban Amidst Masimo Dispute

Photo Credit: Apple

Imports of Apple Watch Series 9 (pictured) and Watch Ultra 2 were banned in the US last year

Highlights

Apple asked a US appeals court to overturn a smartwatch import ban
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is hearing the case
Apple is appealing the ITC's 2023 import ban on its latest watch models

Apple urged a U.S. appeals court on Friday to overturn a U.S. trade tribunal's decision to ban imports of some Apple Watches in a patent dispute with medical-monitoring technology company Masimo.

Apple told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the U.S. International Trade Commission's decision was based on a "series of substantively defective patent rulings," and that Masimo failed to show it had invested in making competing U.S. products that would justify the order.

Representatives for Apple and Masimo did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the filing.

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Irvine, California-based Masimo has accused Apple of hiring away its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology after discussing a potential collaboration. Apple first introduced pulse oximetry to its Series 6 Apple Watches in 2020.

Masimo convinced the ITC on Dec. 26 to block imports of Apple's latest-edition Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches after finding that their technology for reading blood-oxygen levels infringed Masimo's patents.

Apple temporarily resumed sales of the watches the next day after persuading the Federal Circuit to pause the ban. The appeals court reinstated the ban in January, leading Apple to remove pulse oximetry capabilities from watches sold during the appeal, which Apple has said could last at least a year.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection separately determined in January that redesigned versions of the watches did not violate Masimo's rights and would not be not subject to the ban. Masimo said in a court filing that the watches "definitively do not contain pulse oximetry functionality."

Apple told the Federal Circuit on Friday that the ban could not stand because a Masimo wearable covered by the patents was "purely hypothetical" when it filed its ITC complaint in 2021.

The tech giant also argued that Masimo's patents were invalid and that its watches did not infringe them.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

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Apple Watch Series 9 GPS

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Strap Material Silicone

Dial Shape Rectangle

Display Type OLED Retina

Ideal For Unisex

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Apple Watch Ultra 2

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display Size 49mm

Compatible OS iOS

Dial Shape Rectangle

Display Type OLED Retina

Ideal For Unisex

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Apple Watch Series 6 GPS

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Strap Colour Silver, Gold, Space Grey, Pink, Blue, Red, Brown

Display Size 40mm

Dial Shape Rectangle

Display Type OLED Retina

Ideal For Unisex

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