Potential Apple Watch Ban Issued by U.S. Trade Tribunal in Masimo Patent Battle
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Thursday ordered a ban on Apple Watch imports into the country after finding that Apple violated pulse oximetry company Masimo's patents with the devices (via Reuters).
The ban is now subject to presidential review, so it does not take effect immediately, and Apple can take the ban to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit after the 60-day review period ends. Presidents have rarely vetoed bans in the past.
"Masimo has wrongly attempted to use the ITC to keep a potentially lifesaving product from millions of U.S. consumers while making way for their own watch that copies Apple," an Apple spokesperson said. "While today's decision has no immediate impact on sales of Apple Watch, we believe it should be reversed, and will continue our efforts to appeal."
Masimo Chief Executive Officer Joe Kiani said the decision "sends a powerful message that even the world's largest company is not above the law."
Since 2021, Masimo has been embroiled in an ongoing battle with Apple over several health capabilities found in some Apple Watch models, and Masimo has been pushing to have the models banned in the United States. The ITC decision did not specify which models of Apple Watches would be affected by the ban, but Masimo's original complaint said the Apple Watch Series 6, released in 2020, infringed its patents.
Masimo accuses Apple of having illegally poached Masimo employees and stole trade secrets when developing the Apple Watch. The company is seeking over $1.8 billion in damages and co-ownership of five Apple pulse oximetry patents that Masimo says use its technology.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ended up invalidating all but two of the patents, but the ITC in January said that Apple had infringed on a Masimo patent relating to light-based technology for reading blood-oxygen levels.
Apple is also facing an Apple Watch import ban in a separate patent court battle with medical technology company AliveCor. The ITC issued a ban in February, and the Biden administration declined to overrule the decision, but the ban has been placed on hold while proceedings over the validity of AliveCor's patents are completed.
Popular Stories
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...
