Apple Wins Temporary Reprieve in Watch Import Ban Over Masimo's Pulse Oximetry Patent Row

On Wednesday, a U.S. appeals court temporarily halted the government commission's import ban on certain Apple Inc AAPL smartwatches following a patent dispute with Masimo Corporation MASI, a medical technology firm, Reuters reports. 

The court granted Apple's request to pause the ban while considering a longer-term suspension during the appeals process, giving the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) until January 10 to respond.

The contention between Masimo and Apple revolves around allegations of employee poaching by Apple, theft of pulse oximetry technology, and its integration into Apple Watches. 

The ITC ruling prohibited importing and selling Apple Watches equipped with blood-oxygen level reading technology. 

Notably, Apple introduced the pulse oximeter feature in its Series 6 smartwatch back in 2020.

Apple suspended sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the U.S. 

However, these models remain available through various other retailers like Amazon.com AMZN, Best Buy Co Inc BBY, Costco Wholesale Corporation COST, and Walmart Inc WMT.

The ban excludes the Apple Watch SE, a more affordable model lacking a pulse oximeter, and previously sold watches remain unaffected.

Legal battles between the two companies extend beyond the ITC decision, Reuters noted. 

A jury trial in California federal court earlier ended in a mistrial on Masimo's allegations against Apple. 

Concurrently, Apple has filed a separate patent infringement lawsuit against Masimo in Delaware, characterizing Masimo's legal actions as a strategic move to pave the way for its competing smartwatch.

Price Action: AAPL shares are down 0.18% at $192.70 on the last check Wednesday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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