Leaf&Core

Apple Watch Ban Paused for Appeal, Despite Ban’s Praise from Small Business

Danielle from Leaf and Core
Reading Time: 2 minutes.

Screenshot of Apple's website showing possible return for Apple's watchIt seems Apple had some luck with the United States Court of Appeals. They were able to temporarily pause the ban on Apple Watch imports, not even a full week after stopping sales online. Apple stopped selling their latest Apple Watches in-store on the 24th. Now, just three days later, they have the go-ahead to resume sales. So far they haven’t. Perhaps that’s because this reprieve could be temporary. Apple will find out if they can continue selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in mid-January.

UPDATE: Apple will begin selling the Apple Watch in select stores today, with online sales restarting tomorrow.

Watch Ban Paused

Apple is appealing the decision against them, which would also lift the sales ban. They’ve submitted a software update for review, and apparently believe it’ll bypass Masimo’s patents, allowing the Apple Watch to return to sale. The U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit seemed to agree that it at least deserves investigation. They placed the ban on Apple’s watches on hold until January 10th. An appeal decision should come by the 12th.

The International Trade Commission is still pursuing a ban, and will prepare their case by January 10th.

Despite the pause, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 are not available on Apple’s website. However, when Apple updates the site, it goes down for some time, and Apple may simply want to wait until web traffic is lower to update the site and return them to sale.

Some Support Ban

“Innovator companies and health consumers alike should be encouraged that industry giants are increasingly being held accountable for anticompetitive practices that would ultimately limit access to potentially life-saving technology.”

-AliveCore Statement to 9to5Mac

Obviously Masimo supports a ban, if Apple’s not willing to work with them. The ITC also sided with medical company AliveCor earlier this year. The company showed their ECG watchband to Apple in 2015. Three years later, Apple released their own ECG features for the Apple Watch, which the ITC ruled infringed on AliveCor’s designs. That ruling could have become a sales ban, but it seems Apple dodged an outright ban.

At the time of the initial decision against Apple in Masimo’s case, the company’s founder and CEO Joe Kiani voiced his support for the ruling.

“Today’s 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 Founder/CEO Joe Kiani

With Apple now dodging another ban—albeit temporarily—you could be forgiven for thinking they may have been too quick in believing Apple wasn’t above the law.

Options Open for Apple

If Apple’s software fix is acceptable, they may just continue selling their latest watches without issue. However, even if they’re not, Apple may have worked larger hardware changes into a future version of the Apple Watch. The next version of the Apple Watch is, once again, rumored to finally entail some real hardware changes. That could be the opportunity to introduce more novel tech.

Apple still has the options to settle with Masimo and pay to license their technology. However, now Apple has hope that they can get the Apple Watch on sale once more, with minimal damage from the lawsuit.

Sources:
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