After the White House refused to intervene, Apple Inc. AAPL decided to appeal against the ban imposed by the U.S. International Trade Commission due to a patent dispute.
What Happened: Apple is preparing to contest the sales ban at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. On Tuesday, the company submitted an emergency motion seeking a temporary suspension of the sales ban while the court reviews its appeal, reported Bloomberg.
The conflict emerged from accusations of Apple infringing on two health-technology patents belonging to medical technology manufacturer Masimo Corp. MASI. These patents are related to a blood-oxygen sensor featured in Apple’s smartwatches.
See Also: Apple Vision Pro Could Hit Shelves In Late January Or Early February, Says Ming-Chi Kuo
“After careful consultations, Ambassador Tai decided not to reverse the ITC's determination and the ITC's decision became final on December 26, 2023," the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced earlier this week.
An Apple spokeswoman said, “We strongly disagree with the USITC decision and resulting exclusion order, and are taking all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the US as soon as possible."
Cupertino has stopped selling its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches in its online store and U.S. retail outlets. However, other retailers can sell the products until their stocks run out.
Meanwhile, Apple has released a software update for the Apple Watch to rectify the patent issue and presented the design to the U.S. customs agency. The agency is set to decide on Jan. 12 whether to approve or reject these changes.
If approved, this could allow Apple to resume sales of the affected watch models.
Why It Matters: Earlier this year, it was reported that there might not be an Apple Watch Ultra 3 launch in 2024, considering that the tech giant had not officially initiated the development of the smartwatch, which deviated from the usual product development schedule.
Previously, it was reported that the Apple Watch business generated about $17 billion in revenue last year. An Analyst said that the smartwatch bans could cost the company between $300 million and $400 million during holiday sales.
Photo via Shutterstock
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This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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