Gadgets

Once more, Apple is not allowed to sell watches with blood oxygen sensors in the United States.

By - 18 Jan 2024 02:36 AM

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit announced on Thursday that Apple will once more be prohibited from selling watches equipped with blood oxygen sensors.

Apple's attempt to overturn an ITC ban on the company selling the impacted watches in the US was not addressed by the court order issued on Wednesday. However, while that appeal is pending, it lifted an injunction that had prevented the ban from going into effect.

An intellectual property dispute with the medical device company Masimo is the reason for the ban. In October, the International Trade Commission found that Apple’s blood oxygen sensors had infringed on Masimo’s intellectual property.During Wednesday afternoon trading, Apple shares saw a slight decline.

Apple is not allowed to import the aforementioned devices, which include the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. Retailers who still have the impacted watches in stock may continue to sell them, but Apple decided in December to temporarily remove them from both its online and physical stores.

Earlier this week, court filings suggested that Apple had received approval from U.S. Customs for a modified version of its Apple Watches that lack the blood oxygen feature and therefore no longer infringe on Masimo’s intellectual property. It could open a path for a modified Apple Watch to return to U.S. store shelves. An Apple representative earlier this week declined to comment on the Customs decision.After turning down a partnership, Masimo had claimed that Apple had stolen some of its top executives and replicated its technology.

Last month, Masimo CEO Joe Kiani told CNBC that his company is willing to reach a settlement with Apple.

If Apple must continue to keep its latest smartwatches from U.S. stores, it could complicate repairs at Apple stores, which often swap broken devices with replacements.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the denial.