Over the past few weeks, Apple has been fighting against a potential ban on two of its flagship smartwatches. Recall that last week, there was a report that Apple will stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the U.S. This is because of a ban by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in October. The ITC ruled that Apple had infringed the patents of Masimo, a medical technology firm based in California. Two days ago, Apple filed an appeal against the decision of the ITC. Yesterday, the company got a positive response from the court.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit paused the ban, allowing Apple to resume sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. It however gave the ITC until January 10 to respond to Apple’s request. Despite the temporary victory, Apple knows that all is not yet Uhuru. This is why the company is taking another step to try and avoid the risk of the Apple Watch ban.
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Apple submits a software update
After being “suspended” until January 10, 2024, the Apple Watch has been put on sale in the United States again. Apple has also seized this slight opportunity to breathe and tried to avoid the sales ban through software updates. According to Bloomberg, Apple has submitted a software update application to the Customs as a backup method. The company hopes that this backup can help it avoid the ban. Even if the emergency motion to “suspend the Apple Watch sales ban” is not approved, it can try to use software circumvention methods to re-sell the Apple Watch Series. 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
The ITC is expected to submit a response before January 10 next year to refuse to extend the sales ban. If the software update method submitted by Apple can pass the customs investigation, the Apple Watch may be re-sold as soon as January 12.
Final Words
The ban on Apple Watch for violating Masimo’s patent is threatening the sales of some Apple Watches in the U.S. If Apple can not sell these watches in the U.S., it will be a big blow. This is because the affected smartwatches are Apple’s latest flagship watches. We will keep a tab on the progress of the case and update you on the final decision by the court.