Apple resumes US sales of Watch as court order puts ban on hold

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Apple is resuming sales in the US of its Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 after an appeals court halted a ban handed down by a trade tribunal, the latest development in an ongoing patent battle with health technology company Masimo.

Last week Apple had pulled the latest models of its watch from its online and physical stores in the US in anticipation of the ban from the International Trade Commission taking effect. On Wednesday, after an appeals court granted its request to suspend the ban for now, Apple confirmed the products would be returning to its online and physical stores.

“Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, including the blood oxygen feature, will become available for purchase again in the United States at Apple Stores starting today and from apple.com tomorrow by 12pm PT,” the company said in a statement.

The watches will initially be available at select physical stores, with wider availability by December 30, Apple said.

Masimo declined to comment.

Apple has been locked in a legal dispute with California-based Masimo over pulse oximetry technology that measures blood oxygen levels by shining light into the wrist. The iPhone maker added these features to the Watch for the first time in 2020, but Masimo has alleged the feature infringed on its own patented technology.

The ITC, a US government agency, sided with Masimo, finding Apple had infringed on its patents and barring sales of the affected models within the US. The White House has the authority to over-rule ITC decisions, although it very rarely exercises that power. It had 60 days to act after the ITC found against Apple in October.

On Tuesday Apple failed to obtain a reprieve from the Joe Biden administration, and subsequently appealed against the ITC’s decision to a federal appeals court. On Wednesday the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted its request for an interim stay. The court has given the trade commission until January 10 to file its opposition to a longer court stay on the order pending the appeal.

Apple’s response is due by January 15. This means that the interim stay on the ITC’s order will remain in place for at least the first two weeks of 2024.

Masimo has hailed the ITC’s ruling as a win for intellectual property rights and the US patent system, designed to protect innovation, while Apple has said it strongly disagrees with the decision. Earlier this month, Masimo chief executive Joe Kiani said he was open to reaching a settlement with the iPhone maker.