US authorities blocked an attempt by Apple to temporarily halt the sale and import of some Apple Watch products that are the subject of a patent dispute.
For the past while, Apple has been in hot water over its ongoing patent dispute in the US – and it looks as though its attempts to wriggle out of trouble are not working. The dispute pertains to the tech giant’s Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2.
Apple is battling with medical device maker Masimo over patents – it filed copyright infringement lawsuits against the company last year claiming that Masimo had copied patented Apple Watch tech into one of its own products.
In October of this year, Apple was struck a blow when the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled against the tech player. It found in favour of Masimo, arguing that Apple violated Masimo’s pulse oximeter patent, which uses light-based technology to read blood-oxygen levels.
“Today’s ruling by the US ITC sends a powerful message that even the world’s largest company is not above the law,” said Joe Kiani, CEO of Masimo at the time of the October ruling. “This important determination is a strong validation of our efforts to hold Apple accountable for unlawfully misappropriating our patented technology.”
US president Joe Biden was given a set number of days to review the ITC ruling before a ban could be implemented.
To circumvent the ban, Apple said earlier this week that it was going to temporarily pull the two Watch products from US store shelves and the US Apple.com store. An import ban was also proposed. However, this attempt was blocked by the ITC. It confirmed the decision to block the move via a filing it released on 20 December.
In a statement, Apple said it wanted to implement the temporary ban to “pre-emptively” take steps to “comply should the ruling stand”. Biden’s decision was due on 25 December.
“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 statement added.
Had Apple been allowed to temporarily halt sales of its products in the US, the move would have affected only some products. It would not have affected the Apple Watch SE. However, an import ban would have impacted the Apple Watch Series 6 and later models, as well as models of Apple Watch Ultra imported after the end of Biden’s review period.
The end result of the dispute – and Apple’s fate – has yet to be decided in this case. However, it looks as though Apple is going to have to fight harder to win the long battle. Earlier in the week, Bloomberg reported that the company is working on “software fixes” and “tweaks” to resolve the ITC’s reservations with its tech.
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
