Update: Apple Wins Temporary Reprieve in Smartwatch Sales Ban

While the week between Christmas and New Year’s is normally a quiet one for electronics companies, it has not been the case for Apple.

One day after a ban on Apple selling its Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches went into effect, Apple won its appeal requesting a temporary halt on the sales ban. The company can for now promote and sell those products on their website as well as in Apple’s retail outlets. Sales of those products will also continue uninterrupted through other online and brick-and-mortar retail outlets.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) had originally imposed the ban on Apple selling those products before Christmas, because the blood oxygen sensor in these watches allegedly violates a patent owned by medical device maker Masimo, which filed suit against Apple. The ITC had ruled in October that the sensor used in the smartwatches, unveiled in September, infringed upon patents owned by Masimo Corporation and Cercacor Laboratories, Inc.

The ITC’s ruling to ban import and sales of the allegedly infringing smartwatches was vehemently opposed by Apple, which has been furiously trying to get a stay on the ban.  Before Christmas, the Biden Administration also decided it would uphold the FTC ban, leaving Apple with choice but to comply.

The situation has not affected Apple’s other smartwatches, such as the SE, which do not contain the infringing sensor technology and are still available through Apple as well as third-party sites.

Apple’s reprieve is slated to last until January 12, when the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is expected to decide if the redesigned versions of its watches violate Masimo's patents.

As users demand more functions in their personal consumer electronic devices, devices such as smartphones and smartwatches are incorporating more sophisticated technology that can performs tasks such as location tracking and monitor many health and fitness functions. Because smartwatches are designed to always be worn, it seemed natural that they incorporate smart technology to monitor health and medical conditions. But this trend has also increased the risk for potential patent infringement.

Such is the case with Apple, which has reportedly been at odds with Masimo, a supplier of patient monitoring products based in Irvine, CA, for several years. 

In January 2023, a U.S. judge ruled that Apple infringed upon one of Masimo’s pulse oximeter patents in some of its smartwatches that incorporate light-based pulse oximetry functionality and components. Masimo had originally filed suit against Apple in 2021, alleging the electronics company violated several of its patents.