Current:Home > StocksAppeals court reinstates sales ban on Apple Watch models with blood oxygen monitor -ProfitLogic
Appeals court reinstates sales ban on Apple Watch models with blood oxygen monitor
View
Date:2025-04-13 10:50:26
CUPERTINO -- A federal appeals court has decided to revive a U.S. sales ban on Apple's premium watches while it referees a patent dispute revolving around a sensor, raising the specter that the company will pull the devices from stores for the second time in less than a month.
The ruling issued Wednesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington comes three weeks after it blocked the ban. That temporary stay enabled Apple to renew sales of the two internet-connected watch models, the Series 9 and Ultra 2, embroiled in an intellectual-property fight with medical technology company Masimo.
The U.S. International Trade Commission in late October ruled a blood-oxygen sensor in the Apple Watch models infringed on Masimo's patents, resulting in Apple briefly ceasing sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 in late December before getting the short-lived reprieve from the appeals court.
Apple is still trying to persuade the federal appeals court to overturn the ITC's ruling, but Wednesday's decision means the company is no longer insulated from the U.S. sales ban.
The Federal Circuit's decision to lift the temporary stay is a victory for the integrity of the American patent system and the safety of people relying on pulse oximetry," said Joe Kiani, founder and CEO of Masimo, in a statement Wednesday evening. "It affirms that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and must deal with the consequences when they are caught infringing others' patents."
In a statement Wednesday evening provided to 9to5Mac, Apple said it would begin Thursday selling versions of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 "without the Blood Oxygen feature."
The appeals court decision revives the ban beginning at 2 p.m. Pacific Time Thursday.
The appeals process is expected to take at least a year, meaning Apple will be forced to stop selling its latest watch models in the U.S. through 2024 or perhaps redesign the devices in a way that complies with the ITC's ruling.
In a Monday court filing, Masimo disclosed Apple has won approval from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on revisions that would remove the blood-oxygen sensor from the watches.
The Cupertino-based company also could negotiate a settlement with Masimo that would clear the way for it to continue selling the Apple Watch models with the blood-oxygen sensor. But in its appeal Apple has scoffed at the notion that its watches are relying on Masimo's patented technology, making a truce unlikely.
Having to pull its two top Apple Watches from the U.S. would put a small dent in the company's annual sales of $383 billion. Although the company doesn't disclose the volume of Apple Watch sales, analyst estimate the product accounts for about $18 billion in annual revenue.
The U.S. sales ban on the Series 9 and Ultra 2 won't prevent Apple from continuing to sell its less-expensive model, called the SE, that isn't equipped with a blood-oxygen sensor. But that technology, which Apple introduced into its watch lineup in 2020, has been a key part of the company's effort to position the devices as life-saving tools to monitor users' health.
In court filings urging the appeals court to continue blocking the sales ban, Apple argued that enforcing the ITC's patent order would cause unnecessary harm to "a pioneering product made by a quintessentially American company that directly employs more than 90,000 employees" in the U.S.
Masimo argued that Apple won't be significantly harmed by the U.S. sales ban of the Apple Watch models, given most of the company's revenue comes from the iPhone. What's more, Masimo sought to portray Apple as a corporate bully engaged in the brazen theft of intellectual property widely used in hospitals and other health professionals that treat about 200 million patients annually.
- In:
- Apple
- Apple Watch
veryGood! (4727)
Related
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- The simple intervention that may keep Black moms healthier
- Alec Baldwin Reacts to Birth of First Grandchild After Ireland Baldwin Welcomes Baby Girl
- 'Live free and die?' The sad state of U.S. life expectancy
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Chinese Solar Boom a Boon for American Polysilicon Producers
- Biden to name former North Carolina health official Mandy Cohen as new CDC director
- YouTuber Hank Green Shares His Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Cancer Diagnosis
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- EU Utilities Vow End to Coal After 2020, as Trump Promises Revival
Ranking
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Becky Sauerbrunn, U.S. Women's National Team captain, to miss World Cup with injury
- Alaska Oil and Gas Spills Prompt Call for Inspection of All Cook Inlet Pipelines
- How poverty and racism 'weather' the body, accelerating aging and disease
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Pay up, kid? An ER's error sends a 4-year-old to collections
- Clinics on wheels bring doctors and dentists to health care deserts
- Is Climate Change Fueling Tornadoes?
Recommendation
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
Solar Industry to Make Pleas to Save Key Federal Subsidy as It Slips Away
North Dakota Supreme Court ruling keeps the state's abortion ban on hold for now
North Dakota Supreme Court ruling keeps the state's abortion ban on hold for now
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
Scientists Track a Banned Climate Pollutant’s Mysterious Rise to East China
Auto Industry Pins Hopes on Fleets to Charge America’s Electric Car Market
Uh-oh. A new tropical mosquito has come to Florida. The buzz it's creating isn't good