President Biden has refused to veto a sales ban on Apple’s latest Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra, reports Reuters. The sales ban, which went into effect on Apple’s online store last week and in brick-and-mortar locations on Sunday, comes over a patent dispute with Masimo.
Masimo claims the blood oxygen feature in the latest flagship Apple Watch models infringes upon some of its patents, with the USITC (United States International Trade Commission) forcing Apple to halt the sales of the latest models until an appeal is processed by a higher court or a settlement is reached.
Apple’s engineers are reportedly working hard to address the dispute with a software fix to the algorithm behind the blood oxygen feature. Apple executives are confident a software-based fix will be enough to sway the courts, but Masimo’s CEO doesn’t seem convinced. Apple previously had hoped a veto by President Biden would take place, saying it was suspending sales as a preemptive measure.
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A Presidential Review Period is in progress regarding an order from the U.S. International Trade Commission on a technical intellectual property dispute pertaining to Apple Watch devices containing the Blood Oxygen feature. While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand. This includes pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Apple.com starting December 21, and from Apple retail locations after December 24.
Apple’s teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features. Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers.
Should the order stand, Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible.
Apple spokesperson statement
