Apple on Tuesday filed an appeal to stay a ban on imports of its Apple Watch Ultra 2, pictured here, and Apple Watch Series 9 products as it awaits approval on redesigned versions. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
Apple seeks to overturn an import ban that forced the company to halt sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 products.
The company filed an emergency appeal in federal court requesting a stay of the International Trade Commission’s ruling to ban the watches, citing the loss of sales it would experience after pulling the devices from shelves. Advertisement
“Apple will suffer irreparable harm if the orders are left in place while the Stay Motion is being briefed and decided because they will bar Apple from importing and selling its two most popular Apple Watch models — the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 with blood oxygen sensing functionality — to potentially millions of U.S. consumers who wish to buy them,” Apple wrote.
The commission had ruled in October in favor of the medical device company Masimo Corp., which charged that Apple violated its patents and intellectual property in connection with items that appear in the two Apple products. The White House said on Tuesday it would not intervene in the ITC’s decision.
Apple said a stay on the ITC ban is needed until Customs and Border Protection considers whether the redesigned versions of its watches, which do not include the technology in question, violated Masimo’s patents. Advertisement
Customs and Border Protection is not set to make its ruling until Jan. 12.
The commission gave Apple two months after its October ruling to either work out a licensing deal with Masimo or appeal the order. The tech giant had hoped for the Biden administration, which could have overruled the ITC, to step into the matter but the U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai opted not to.
