Apple proves to have won its appeal on a U.S. appeals court as Reuters reports that the tech giant may now temporarily sell its flagship smartwatches, just days after being banned by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).
Engadget states that the court's decision is just temporary. It has given the ITC until January 10 to reply to Apple's application for a longer-term halt on the ban while the appeals process is underway.
This reportedly implies that Apple should be allowed to restart Apple Watch sales, specifically sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches, as per BBC, on its website and in Apple Stores in the United States, which were suspended last week.
(Photo : PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
An Apple Watch Ultra 2 device is displayed for sale at The Grove Apple retail store on release day in Los Angeles, California, on September 22, 2023.
Apple argued in the appeal filed on Tuesday that the import ban would cause the business "irreparable harm." After both the ITC and Masimo stated that a software repair, which the business is hurrying to provide, would be insufficient to resolve the patent dispute, the firm is now considering revamping the blood oxygen sensors in its wristwatch.
Despite the BBC stating specific Apple watch models, the ITC judgment states that it only applies to Apple Watches with the aforementioned light-based pulse oximetry functionality, but does not identify which models are affected. Apple originally used pulse oximetry in its Series 6 watches, and Masimo claims that all Apple Watches that use the technique violate its patents.
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Apple vs. Masimo
In October, the USITC determined that Apple infringed on two patents owned by medical device firm Masimo Corporation.
The California-based startup accused Apple of poaching key employees and stealing technology it created to assess oxygen levels in the blood. Since 2020, most models of Apple's smart watches have had the contentious blood oxygen function.
CNN adds to the story stating that Masimo CEO Joe Kiani said he believes Apple intentionally violated his company's patents. The report noted however, that the two corporations have been at odds for many years as Apple has previously filed two patent infringement lawsuits against Masimo in October 2022.
Bad Publicity for Apple
Reuters reports that according to experts, a final verdict may cost either the tech firm millions of dollars and perhaps necessitate a settlement or some type of technological workaround by Apple. However, they believe that any financial loss for Apple will be swamped by the negative publicity generated by the litigation.
According to Stuart Cole, Chief Macro Economist at Equiti Capital as reported by Reuters, the main issue proves to be the bad publicity for Apple, implying that the company steals technology from competitors rather than developing its own. Cole adds that Apple is defending this case more for what its implications are for its future health-wearable devices than for this single piece of blood oxygen monitoring software.
Due to the ITC judgment, Apple halted sales of the impacted devices from its website and retail locations in the United States last week. But the devices were still reportedly available from merchants such as Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, and Walmart.
The restriction does not apply to the Apple Watch SE, a less costly device that does not include a pulse oximeter. as well as to already sold watches.
Following the decision on Wednesday, Masimo Corporations' shares reportedly fell 4.6% to $115.11, while Apple shares remained unchanged at $193.15.
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