01/15/2024

U.S. Customs Says Redesigned Apple Watches not Subject to Import Ban

Publicly, Apple has not described the redesign

A U.S. law enforcement agency has determined that Apple can use a redesign to bypass an import ban on newer Apple Watch models stemming from its patent infringement dispute with Masimo, the medical-monitoring technology company said in a court filing on Monday.

The import ban, issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), applies to Apple's current Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches and initially went into effect on Dec. 26. Apple convinced the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to pause the ban the next day, and has since resumed selling the watches as it contests the import ruling.

Apple had said that a proposed redesign would allow it to circumvent findings that the watches infringe Masimo's blood-oxygen reading pulse oximetry patents. Apple has not publicly described the redesign, which could involve an update to the watches' software.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Reuters.