When I archetypal heard astir the imaginable Apple Watch prohibition successful aboriginal February, acknowledgment to The Hill, I thought, "There's nary mode that 1 of the astir fashionable smartwatches connected the satellite would get barred."
Even The Verge was skeptical: "Given the Apple Watch’s popularity and the size of Apple’s coffers, it’ll beryllium astonishing if an import prohibition really materializes," adding that it's much apt that Masimo, the medical-tech institution that sued Apple, volition locomotion distant with a licensing agreement.
But present we are. It's the extremity of 2023 and Apple is present banned from selling its latest wearables: Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
But the question is, however did we get here?
5 large events that led to the Apple Watch ban
Jan. 2020. Masimo archetypal sued Apple, according to Bloomberg. The med-tech institution accused Apple of promising a concern (both companies reportedly met successful 2013 to sermon a moving relationship) — lone to crook its backmost connected Masimo by stealing commercialized secrets and hiring cardinal employees.
Sept. 2020. Apple introduced the Watch Series 6, which boasted a caller blood-oxygen monitoring feature, a exertion Masimo claims Apple stole from the med-tech company.
In the aforesaid month, Masimo accused Apple of trying to hold and postpone the ineligible fight. For background, by this time, Apple already filed requests to disregard the commercialized secrets accusation and filed petitions to person Masimo's patents invalidated by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
June 2021. Masimo filed a complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), hoping that it would propulsion the Apple Watch from the market. In short, the ailment claims that Apple infringed upon respective patents by releasing a ticker that tin measurement arterial oxygen saturation.
Oct. 2023. The ITC ruled successful favour of Masimo, stating that Apple did, indeed, interruption Masimo's patents that protected its blood-oxygen monitoring inventions. The ITC issued an import ban, taking effect connected Dec. 26, connected the devices that see the exertion (i.e., Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2).
Dec. 2023. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives nether the Biden medication could have stepped successful to veto the ban, but connected Dec. 26, it decided against reversing the ITC's ruling, according to The Hill.
So what now?
According Bloomberg, Apple volition situation the prohibition astatine the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. "We powerfully disagree with the USITC determination and resulting exclusion order, and are taking each measures to instrumentality Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers successful the US arsenic soon arsenic possible," an Apple spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, Apple besides requested an exigency removal of the prohibition for a minimum of 2 weeks portion the tribunal mulls implicit Apple's appeal.
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