Apple will disable pulse oximeter on new Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches if court rules against it،
If it receives an adverse ruling in an appeals court ruling expected as early as today, Apple will disable the pulse oximeter on newly sold Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 units to circumvent the order. exclusion from the International Trade Commission (ITC). The order initially required Apple to remove affected watches from online and physical Apple Stores in the
United States. Apple is currently able to sell the watches thanks to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that temporarily stayed the exclusion order. .
Last January, an ITC judge ruled that Apple had violated one of five Masimo patents that the company claimed Apple had infringed by including its pulse oximeter on some Apple Watch models. After the president refused to veto the ITC's exclusion order last month, Apple was forced to act.
Apple is awaiting an opinion from the appeals court, which is expected to decide whether Apple can continue to sell the affected models until it has exhausted the appeal process. This decision could be made as early as today. What we learned this morning is that the redesign submitted by Apple to US Customs was simply Apple disabling the pulse oximeter, leading Masimo to issue this statement earlier today (via
9to5Mac):
“On Friday, January 12, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Exclusion Enforcement Directorate (EOE) ruled that Apple's redesign was not within the scope of the orders remedies of the ITC investigation underlying Apple's appeal.
The pulse oximeter on the Apple Watch
In Apple's application under 19 CFR Part 177 (in a portion it did not identify as confidential), Apple explained “that its redesigned watch products (i) definitely do not contain functionality pulse oximetry…” Because Apple has maintained that certain information in the EOE proceeding is confidential, Masimo is not providing a copy of the decision with this letter. There is currently no public version of the decision. »
Apple can continue to sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra2 until the Court of Appeal issues its decision which, as we have already noted, could come today. If the court decides that the exclusion order remains in abeyance until Apple has completed the appeal process, you will not see any change in the current situation and the affected watches will still be available in the United States.
If the appeals court rules that the exclusion order remains in effect while Apple continues to appeal the original decision, the tech giant will have to sell new units without the pulse oximeter feature or concede a license for Masimo's patent. It should be noted that those who already own Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Ultra Watch 2 units will be able to use the pulse oximeter on their watches. If Apple disables the feature, it will only affect newly purchased units.
