Apple can temporarily resume sales of two models of its iconic smartwatches after a US appeals court on Wednesday suspended the import ban on the items imposed by a government commission in a patent dispute over its technology. Medical monitoring.
The technology company had filed an emergency motion with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to stop an order from the US International Trade Commission (ITC), which ruled in October that Apple had infringed two patents of the biotechnology company Masimo with its Blood oxygen monitor, one of the big claims of its successful smartwatch series.
Analysts say the final decision could cost both companies millions of dollars and force Apple to reach an agreement or adopt a technical compromise solution that does not unduly harm the parties' interests. Ultimately, however, the financial impact for Apple is likely to be less than the impact of the bad publicity the lawsuit is generating in the midst of the holiday sales campaign, analysts say. The models suspended as a precautionary measure were the latest Apple Watch Series 9 and the Ultra 2.
Shares of Masimo, a medical technology company based in Irvine, California, fell 6.3% after the decision, while those of Apple remained virtually flat.
The ITC's suspension order on the import and sale of the Apple Watch is limited only to models equipped with blood oxygen level measuring technology. Starting with the Series 6 model in 2020, Apple has integrated this pulse oximetry feature into its watches. The Biden administration refused to reverse the ITC decision before the December 25 deadline. The resumption of sales of the Series 9 and Ultra is provisional as the court has given the Commission until January 10 to respond to Apple's request for a longer stay during the legal challenge.
The Washington appeals court ruling, issued a day after Apple's urgent request to stay the stay, actually provides temporary relief for this important technology while the court considers the tech company's request to stay the ban for the duration of the patent litigation Division, which accounts for 18 billion of the company's annual sales of $383.29 billion. Apple is the world's largest seller of smartwatches, accounting for almost a third of global sales volume.
Apple stopped selling its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches on its online store and at retail locations in the US last week. Online sales stopped on December 21st and the last day you could buy a new watch at an Apple store was Christmas Eve.
To resolve the dispute, Apple has developed a software update for the Apple Watch that it says will address Masimo's objections. In parallel with its court action, the Cupertino company has applied to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for approval of the redesigned versions of the two watch models subject to the ban. The customs office is responsible for enforcing the import bans and is scheduled to decide on January 12 whether Apple's redesign meets the trade authority's standards.
Masimo has accused Apple of unfairly targeting its employees, stealing its pulse oximetry technology and incorporating it into Apple Watches. Apple countered, calling Masimo's legal action a “maneuver to clear the way” for its own smartwatch.
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