Apple on Wednesday won an appeal against the Apple Watch sales ban that recently took effect, Reuters reports. Apple can now sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the United States in its online and retail stores “while the court considers the request for a stay pending appeal,” according to the court’s order. appeal from the United States.
Apple is in the middle of a patent dispute with Masimo. Masimo filed suit with the United States International Trade Commission, which found that Apple had infringed Masimo’s patents relating to the blood oxygen sensor in the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. Due to the decision of the USITC, a ban on the sale of these two watches went into effect on December 21 on Apple.com and on December 25 for all Apple stores.
President Biden refused to reverse the ban last week.
As of 2:30 p.m. ET, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 were still listed as “currently unavailable” on Apple.com and the company has not released any statement. Apple’s online sales stopped late in the day on December 21 and Apple Store retail sales on December 24. Third-party retailers were allowed to continue selling the watches while supplies lasted, but the retailers stopped receiving new shipments on December 24.
Apple filed a motion on December 26 stating that it would “suffer irreparable harm if the orders remain in effect.” In a statement to Reuters, Apple said: “We strongly disagree with the USITC’s decision and the resulting exclusion order, and are taking all steps to return the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the United States as soon as possible. »
The lifting of the ban is temporary, but the Court of Appeal is considering Apple’s request to extend the suspension of the ban. The USITC has until January 10 to respond to Apple’s request. Apple told the appeals court that it had redesigned how the blood sensor worked and that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency was checking whether the redesign infringed Masimo’s patents. The agency set a date of January 12 to announce its findings.
The order from the United States Court of Appeals can be seen below. (2 pages)
