An extension granted by a court order permits Apple to continue the sale of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 for an additional two weeks. On December 27, Wednesday, Apple secured a court order to temporarily suspend the ban on the sale of the Apple Watch, which had come into effect on December 26, 2023.
According to The Verge, a US federal appeal court issued a stop on the import and sales bans on Wednesday, December 27. This action was taken after Apple made a request for the bans to be paused, pending a determination by US Customs. The assessment by US Customs aims to evaluate whether the modifications made by Apple to the Apple Watch are sufficient to address the patent dispute that led to the initial ban. A decision from US Customs is anticipated on January 12, 2024.
As a result of the recent court order, Apple has been granted a two-week extension, pending the decision of US Customs, to continue the sale of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Following the imposition of the ban, Apple removed both devices from its official website on December 21 and subsequently from its physical store shelves after December 24. Despite this, customers still had the opportunity to purchase the Watch Series 9 or Watch Ultra 2 at retailers like Best Buy, Target, and others, while supplies last. The ban was issued by the US International Trade Commission in response to a ruling made in October, which determined that Apple had infringed on patents related to pulse oximetry technology owned by Masimo, a medical device manufacturer.
While only two watch models were directly impacted by the ban, the affected Apple watches, which include a pulse oximeter feature for reading blood-oxygen levels, encompass every Apple watch since the 2020 Series 6 model. This pulse oximeter functionality is crucial for early detection of breathing issues, effective management of chronic heart or lung conditions, and optimization of fitness training, as well as adjustment to high altitudes. The significance of this feature was heightened during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when medical professionals indicated that a blood oxygen reading below 95% could indicate respiratory distress due to the virus.
The patent infringement dispute, initiated by Masimo in 2021, has been a long-standing legal challenge. While Apple is actively working to modify the software algorithms and its blood-oxygen app through its engineering team, the efficacy of these adjustments in meeting compliance standards and allowing the smartwatches back into the market remains to be seen.
