After 3PM ET on December 21st, you gained’t have the option to purchase the Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2. The final day for pickup or supply of those fashions from Apple’s retail shops is December 24th. The motive? The firm says it’s to preemptively adjust to an ITC import ban following a patent dispute with medical machine maker Masimo over its SpO2 sensor.
The information was first reported by 9to5Mac, and Apple confirmed the information to The Verge. The ban solely impacts the flagship Series 9 and Ultra 2 fashions. Since the Apple Watch SE doesn’t have the SpO2 sensor, it stays unaffected. Previous fashions of the Apple Watch with the blood oxygen sensor will even not be impacted. The ITC ban additionally solely impacts gross sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 inside the US — the watches will nonetheless be obtainable on the market overseas.
The patent disputes between Apple and Masimo have been thorny over the previous few years. Masimo is most well-known for its pulse oximeter. Masimo filed two separate instances — one with the US District Court within the Central District of California and a second with the ITC —claiming that Apple infringed on its pulse oximetry tech. This specific import ban is a results of the latter.
In a press release supplied to each 9to5Mac and The Verge, Apple spokesperson Nikki Rothberg says it “strongly disagrees” with the order and is “pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers.”
Right now, it’s unclear whether or not the ITC import ban will stand. It’s presently present process a presidential overview interval, and President Joe Biden could have the chance to veto the ban. Presidential vetos, nevertheless, are unusual, although Apple has benefitted from them prior to now. In 2013, former President Barack Obama vetoed an ITC import ban on the iPhone 4 and sure iPad fashions. That stated, Biden selected to uphold one other ITC ruling that may see Apple Watch imports banned over the EKG characteristic. The presidential overview interval ends December 25th, so we’ll have to see if issues change between now and then.
“Should the order stand, Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the US as soon as possible,” Rothberg says. That would probably embody an enchantment within the Federal Circuit.
