Sales of Apple's popular Apple Watch could be banned in the United States due to a ruling on Oct. 26 by the International Trade Commission. The commission found that Apple violated the patent rights of medical technology company Masimo’s light-based pulse oximetry technology, which Apple uses for blood oxygen tracking on its Apple Watches.
“Today’s ruling by the USITC sends a powerful message that even the world’s largest company is not above the law,” said Joe Kiani, chair and CEO of Masimo.
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The decision by the ITC could halt the sale of Apple Watches in the U.S., but the result won’t take effect immediately as the ruling is up for presidential review. The Biden administration has 60 days to veto the import ban on Apple Watches, but it’s important to note that presidents have rarely vetoed bans in the past.
The ruling could also face possible appeals which could delay the ban as well.
It was not specified by the ITC on which Apple Watches could be banned from being imported to the U.S., but Masimo’s complaint in 2021 was targeting Apple Watch Series 6, which is the first model with blood-oxygen monitoring capabilities.
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“There is no greater offense to both the antitrust and intellectual property law than when a dominant firm infringes the patent of a smaller rival, who is an actual or potential competitor. In this case, as in the other cases involving Apple’s egregious abuse of market power, the harms far outweigh the benefit,” said the Consumer Federation of America in a submitted comment to the ITC.
This is not the first time Apple has faced an import ban on its Apple Watch.
In December, the ITC ruled that Apple infringed on medical device company AliveCor’s wearable EKG tech. The ITC at the time recommended a limited exclusion order and a cease-and-desist order for Apple Watch models with the technology. The ruling was upheld by President Joe Biden in February, which put the import of Apple Watches with EKG technology (Apple Watch Series 4 or later) at risk for being banned.
