Tag: masimo

Apple Urges US Appeals Court to Overturn ITC’s Apple Watch Import Ban Amidst Masimo Dispute

Apple urged a U.S. appeals court on Friday to overturn a U.S. trade tribunal’s decision to ban imports of some Apple Watches in a patent dispute with medical-monitoring technology company Masimo.

Apple told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the U.S. International Trade Commission’s decision was based on a “series of substantively defective patent rulings,” and that Masimo failed to show it had invested in making competing U.S. products that would justify the order.

Representatives for Apple and Masimo did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the filing.

Irvine, California-based Masimo has accused Apple of hiring away its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology after discussing a potential collaboration. Apple first introduced pulse oximetry to its Series 6 Apple Watches in 2020.

Masimo convinced the ITC on Dec. 26 to block imports of Apple’s latest-edition Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches after finding that their technology for reading blood-oxygen levels infringed Masimo’s patents.

Apple temporarily resumed sales of the watches the next day after persuading the Federal Circuit to pause the ban. The appeals court reinstated the ban in January, leading Apple to remove pulse oximetry capabilities from watches sold during the appeal, which Apple has said could last at least a year.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection separately determined in January that redesigned versions of the watches did not violate Masimo’s rights and would not be not subject to the ban. Masimo said in a court filing that the watches “definitively do not contain pulse oximetry functionality.”

Apple told the Federal Circuit on Friday that the ban could not stand because a Masimo wearable covered by the patents was “purely hypothetical” when it filed its ITC complaint in 2021.

The tech giant also argued that Masimo’s patents were invalid and that its watches did not infringe them.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

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Apple Watch Series 9, Watch Ultra 2 Lose Blood Oxygen Feature to Dodge US Ban

Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will no longer offer the company’s blood oxygen feature on both models in the US, according to the company. In order to dodge a looming US ban on its latest smartwatches, Apple has disabled the pulse oximetry feature on its smartwatches, which infringe on patents held by medical technology firm Masimo. As a result, customers who purchase these two models in the US will not be able to measure their blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) levels.

Masimo CEO Joe Kiani told Bloomberg that Apple had not reached out to the medical technology firm to discuss a settlement amid the ongoing legal dispute between both firms. Apple has appealed a ruling of the International Trade Commission (ITC) in October that said the company infringed on Masimo’s patents related to pulse oximetry, a feature that was first introduced with the Apple Watch Series 6.

Earlier this week, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Apple could not sell both models with the blood oxygen feature, while refusing to pause the import ban during the appeal period. As anticipated, Apple has disabled the blood oxygen sensor on its Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 that are sold in the US, to dodge the ban.

This means that both smartwatches in the US will still ship with a blood oxygen sensor, but its functionality will be disabled. The feature will also be disabled via the Watch app. Meanwhile, Apple has also updated its product pages for the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US with a banner that informs customers the blood oxygen feature isn’t available on those models, while it has also disappeared from the company’s feature comparison charts for different models.

It is important to note that the restrictions on the blood oxygen feature only applies to customers in the US, which means that the feature will work on the same models sold in other countries, including India. If Apple and Masimo resolve the patent dispute in the future, the iPhone make should be able to activate the functionality once more, as the company has merely deactivated the hardware on these models.

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Apple Watch Series 9, Watch Ultra 2 Models May Lose Support for SpO2 Monitoring to Dodge US Ban: Report

Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 models could drop support for a health monitoring feature in order to dodge an import ban in the US, according to a report. After the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled last year that Apple could not import and sell its latest smartwatches in the US for infringing on two patents, the company is reportedly planning to disable support for the features on the Apple Watch Series 9 and the high-end Apple Watch Ultra 2.

9to5Mac spotted a legal filing that states Apple’s lawyers have proposed a solution to disable the blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring — or pulse oximetry — feature completely on the company’s latest Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 models. The features could be disabled in the future, in order to circumvent the ban on importing the latest smartwatches in the US imposed by the ITC last year for infringing on two patents held by medical device maker Masimo.

According to the report, disabling the pulse oximetry feature on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 would mean that the products would no longer infringe on the firm’s patents. The features would also not affect existing owners in the US, or all owners outside the country. The ITC ordered a ban on imports of the two smartwatch models in the US after deciding that the Cupertino company’s products infringed on Masimo’s patents related to pulse oximetry features.

Meanwhile, Apple told the publication that until a US appeals court decides on a stay on the import ban during the ITC’s appeal period, Apple will continue to offer support for pulse oximetry on the Apple Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2. The ITC has opposed Apple’s motion for a stay on the import ban, stating that the company didn’t face ‘irreparable harm’ from the ban as sales of only some models were affected.

Apple put both smartwatch models on sale again in the US at the end of last month, after it won an interim stay from an appellate court in Washington following a ban that saw it pull the listing for the products on December 21 and take them off shelves in the US on December 24. The decision of the appeals court on whether to stay the ban for the duration of the appeal period, is expected to arrive in the coming days.

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Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Sale Resumes After Appeals Court Lifts US Ban

Apple said it would put its latest smartwatch models back on sale in its US retail stores Wednesday after it won a court ruling in a patent fight, providing a quick reprieve for its $17 billion (roughly Rs. 1,41,461 crore) business.

The company said its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 would also resume online sales beginning Thursday by noon Pacific time. The US International Trade Commission had banned the import and sale of the products at Apple’s official channels after it ruled in favor of Masimo, a medical device maker, in a patent infringement case. An appellate court in Washington had issued an interim stay of the ITC’s decision earlier Wednesday while Apple seeks to overturn the decision.

“Apple’s teams have worked tirelessly over many years to develop technology that empowers users with industry-leading health, wellness and safety features and we are pleased the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal,” a company spokeswoman said in a statement.

The watches will be back on shelves beginning Wednesday at some of Apple’s about 270 retail locations across the country, with wider availability by Saturday, the company said.

Apple was forced to stop sales of one of its signature products after the ITC found the company infringed a pair of Masimo patents related to measuring blood-oxygen saturation. Apple pulled the watches from its website on December 21 and in retail stores on Christmas Eve.

The ITC announced the sales and import ban in October, but the White House had 60 days to review it and potentially veto it. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Tuesday she wouldn’t intervene and the White House refused to veto the measure.

Apple also has developed a software update for the Apple Watch that it believes will mitigate the issue. It submitted the design of that update to the US customs agency and said the government is scheduled to decide January 12 whether to approve the changes.

The appellate court in Washington gave the ITC until January 10 to respond to Apple’s request for a longer stay during the company’s full appeal. A spokesperson for Irvine, California-based Masimo declined to comment on Wednesday’s court ruling. Masimo’s shares fell 4.6 percent to $115.11 (roughly Rs. 9,580) at the close in New York after the court temporarily ended the ban on watch sales. Apple’s stock was little changed.

The ITC had argued against the interim stay of its order, saying in a Tuesday court filing that Apple didn’t face “irreparable harm” during its appeal because sales of some watch models continued.

“The Commission’s remedial orders do not affect all Apple Watch products, but only those that include a light-based pulse oximetry feature, i.e., a feature for measuring the oxygen level in the blood,” the ITC said.

Masimo is also seeking to intervene in the appeals case. The company said in a separate filing on Tuesday that Apple’s emergency request for an interim stay should be denied “because there is no emergency.”

“Apple misleads the Court as to the status quo,” Masimo said. “Apple fails to inform the Court that it has already stopped sales of the infringing Apple Watches that are the subject of the challenged ITC orders.”

Apple had argued the ITC’s decision was wrong and said it was “taking all measures” to return the watches to the US market. In a headache for owners of the Apple Watch Series 6, 7 and 8 — all of which include the blood-oxygen feature — out-of-warranty watches also weren’t eligible for hardware repairs as long as the ban had remained in place.

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Apple Files Appeal After Biden Administration Bans Watch Series 9, Watch Ultra 2 Sales in US

The US has officially banned the import and sale of Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 models after US President Biden’s administration declined to veto an agency’s decision to restrict the wearables. The move follows an October ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC) that certain Apple Watch models infringed the blood oxygen saturation technology patented by a medical tech company called Masimo. The affected Apple watches feature a blood oxygen (SpO2) monitoring feature. The Cupertino giant is appealing the federal government ban. An Apple spokesperson said that the company strongly disagrees with the ITC’s order.

Apple on Tuesday (December 26) appealed (via Reuters) a decision to ban sales and imports of its latest wearables based on a complaint from Masimo after President Joe Biden’s administration declined to veto USITC earlier today. In a statement, an Apple spokesperson said that it strongly disagrees with the USITC decision and resulting exclusion order, and will be “taking all measures to return the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the US as soon as possible.” The California-based Masimo earlier claimed that Apple’s pulse reader feature infringes on its pulse-oximeter technology.

The iPhone maker has filed an emergency request for the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to halt the ban. It requested the Federal Circuit for a temporary stay on the ban at least until US Customs and Border Protection considers redesigned versions of its watches infringe Masimo’s patents by January 12.

A statement from the Office of US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the agency “decided not to reverse the ITC’s determination” after “careful consideration.” The government tribunal’s order will go into effect on December 26, barring imports and sales of Apple Watches that use patent-infringing technology for monitoring blood-oxygen levels. Apple had already paused the sale of Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US on its website on December 21 and from its store shelves after December 24.

The ITC issued the ban in October this year after finding that Apple infringed on blood oxygen saturation technology patented by Masimo. The tribunal ordered Apple to pause selling any previously imported devices with the blood oxygen pulse oximeter sensor. The order was followed by the 60-day Presidential Review Period that expired on December 25.

The Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 are still available for purchase outside the US. Also, the latest move does not affect the Apple Watch SE as the budget-friendly wearable does not feature a SpO2 sensor. Apple has included a SpO2 tracker in every wearable since its Series 6 model in 2020.

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Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Online Sales Stopped in the US Ahead of Ban; Older Models Can’t Be Fixed

Apple has stopped selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the US on its online store, just days before a ban related to a patent dispute takes effect.

The company also will no longer be able to repair watch models that are out-of-warranty, a potential headache for consumers.

The newest Apple Watch models were no longer available for purchase from the company’s website as of about 3pm Thursday in New York. The company previously said it would end sales at its about 270 physical retail stores in the US on December 24. Online purchasing in the US was stopped earlier than in-store sales so that watches could be sent to consumers before a ban scheduled for December 25 goes into effect. Sales will continue at Apple’s international online and in-person stores.

Apple posted a message on the website saying it “no longer sells Apple Watch units in the United States with the ability to measure blood oxygen.” Apple Watch SE models without that feature are still on sale.

The sales ban was imposed by the US International Trade Commission, which ruled that Apple violated two health-technology patents related to blood oxygen sensing held by Irvine, California-based Masimo.

Separately, Apple’s customer service teams were informed in a memo that the company will no longer replace out-of-warranty models going back to Apple Watch Series 6. That means if a customer has a broken screen, for instance, they won’t be able to get the issue fixed by Apple. The company will still offer help that can be done via software, such as reinstalling the operating system.

Company representatives were told to tell affected customers that they will be contacted when hardware replacements are allowed again. Generally before the ban, Apple was unable to fix most of the hardware issues with the smartwatch and, instead, replaced those units.

The decision to stop watch replacements affects most new Apple Watches sold since 2020, including the Series 6, 7, 8 and Ultra, in addition to the current 9 and Ultra 2. All of those models include the blood oxygen feature the commission ruled were covered by the patents.

Customers who purchase watches before December 25 — the day the ban comes into place in the US — and models that are still under warranty aren’t affected by the replacement prohibition. The included warranty for the device is typically one year, while users can pay for AppleCare to extend the time period.

After December 25, Apple also won’t be able to exchange a watch purchased before the ban, say for a different color or size, during the typical return period. Retail staff was told a product swap won’t be allowed, but Apple will replace accessories like bands. Watches can still be returned for a refund.

Earlier this week, Apple employees were told they can’t inform customers that the Apple Watch remains on sale at third-party retailers, such as Best Buy and Target, due to the legal order. The watch will likely continue to be available at those retail outlets until the supply already in the US runs out. Apple won’t be able to import more watches — which are made overseas — until after the commission’s order is lifted.

The ban on the watches remains in effect until Apple reaches a licensing agreement with Masimo, gets a federal reprieve or fixes the problem. Apple is working on a software update it believes will mitigate the issue.

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