Certain Apple Watches will not be able to be sold in the United States beginning Tuesday after the Biden administration declined to veto a ban on the timepieces.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) in October upheld a ruling handed down earlier in the year that sided with the medical technology company Masimo in a suit against Apple. Masimo sued Apple in 2021 for patent infringement over the Apple Watch Series 6.
According to the suit, Masimo claimed that Apple poached employees to steal trade secrets related to its light-based technology for measuring blood-oxygen levels.
The Apple Watch Series 6 was the first smartwatch to include a feature that measured blood-oxygen levels.
According to The Hill, the Biden administration had 60 days from the October ruling to decide whether to veto the ban or let it go into effect. On Tuesday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives issued a statement saying it would not intervene.
“On October 26, 2023, the U.S. International Trade Commission found that Apple, Inc. infringed two patents owned by Masimo Corporation and Cercacor Laboratories, Inc., both based in the United States.
“Since 2005, the Office of the United States Trade Representative has been delegated the President’s authority under Section 337 of the Trade Act of 1930 to review the ITC’s decision for a 60-day period.
“After careful consultations, Ambassador Tai decided not to reverse the ITC’s determination and the ITC’s decision became final on December 26, 2023.”
Apple will be able to appeal the ruling, Reuters reported.
“A Presidential Review Period is in progress regarding an order from the U.S. International Trade Commission on a technical intellectual property dispute pertaining to Apple Watch devices containing the Blood Oxygen feature,” Apple said in a statement to Nexstar earlier this month. “While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand.”
Only the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models would be affected. Apple had already taken the watch models off its online store, and Apple Store locations opened Tuesday without any of the latest top-of-the-line watches in stock, CNN reported.