BREAKING NEWS Apple BANNED from selling Watches in the US starting this week
- Apple is banned from selling Watches in the US starting this week
- The announcement is due to Apple violating a patent on biomarker technology
- READ MORE: Apple Watch Series 9 has new ‘hand gestures’ feature
Apple has been forced to stop selling the Apple Watch in the US due to a patent infringement lawsuit.
Sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 will be banned online starting on December 21 and from Apple retail locations after December 24.
The move comes after an order in October from the International Trade Commission (ITC) that could bar Apple from importing its Apple Watches after finding the devices violate medical technology company Masimo’s patent rights.
The ruling means Apple must stop selling watches on Christmas except for the SE model.
The tech giant will be banned from selling its Apple Watch Series 9 (pictured) and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 starting on December 21
‘Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers,’ the company told The Wall Street Journal.
DailyMail.com has contacted Apple.
The lawsuit stems from Apple implementing technology that measures blood oxygen on demand.
Blood oxygen level represents the percentage of oxygen your red blood cells carry from your lungs to the rest of your body.
A healthy blood oxygen level is 95 and 100 percent- anything below puts people at risk of hypoxemia, which causes confusion, bluish skin and changes in breath and heart rate.
The lawsuit stems from Apple implementing technology that measures blood oxygen on demand. Apple implemented a pulse oximeter in its smartwatches starting in 2020
Apple implemented a pulse oximeter in its smartwatches starting in 2020.
Masimo filed its complaint in 2021, claiming the tech giant used its medical innovation for its Apple Watches.
The ITC issued Apple a cease and desist in October due to the lawsuit while it conducted an investigation, which the group upheld.
Joe Kiani, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Masimo, said in October: ”[The] ruling by the USITC sends a powerful message that even the world’s largest company is not above the law.
‘This important determination is a strong validation of our efforts to hold Apple accountable for unlawfully misappropriating our patented technology.’
Masimo filed its complaint in 2021, claiming the tech giant used its medical innovation for its Apple Watches
A Presidential review period is now in progress on the feature.
While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand, the company said.
However, the Series 9 and the Ultra 2 are said to be available for purchase outside of the US.
Apple believes the ITC’s finding was erroneous and should be reversed and intends to appeal the decision to the Federal Circuit.
Masimo accused Apple of poaching its employees, stealing its pulse oximetry technology and incorporating it into the popular Apple Watch, which makes up 60 percent of the market.
A jury trial on Masimo’s allegations in California federal court ended with a mistrial in May.
Apple has separately sued Masimo for patent infringement in a federal court in Delaware and has called Masimo’s legal actions a ‘maneuver to clear a path’ for its own competing smartwatch.
A presidential administration had not vetoed an ITC ruling since 2013 when President Barack Obama’s administration overturned an import ban on Apple’s iPhones and iPads from a patent dispute with Samsung.
The Biden administration in February chose not to veto a separate import ban on Apple Watches based on a patent-infringement complaint from medical technology company AliveCor.
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