The administration of US President Joe Biden has refused to overturn a government tribunal’s decision to ban Apple Watches. According to Reuters, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has decided not to overturn the import ban on Apple’s Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches. Following a complaint from Massimo, a medical monitoring technology company, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) issued an import ban order. Apple has been accused by the company of stealing its pulse oximetry technology and hiring away its employees.
The ITC’s import ban order went into effect on Tuesday (Dec 26). Apple has decided to file an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington. The tech titan had previously requested ITC to pause the ban during the appeal process. The request has been rejected.
Following the ITC’s decision, Apple has ceased selling Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the United States. However, as of Tuesday, the watches were available on the platforms of other retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. The order has no bearing on the smartwatches that have already been sold. It also does not apply to the sale of the less expensive Apple Watch SE.
‘Move to clear the path’
Apple claims that Masimo’s legal action is merely a “maneuver to clear a path” for the company to launch its own smartwatch to compete with Apple.
Apple has also filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Masimo in federal court in Delaware.
Since 2013, no presidential administration in the United States has overturned an ITC ruling. During the tech giant’s patent dispute with Samsung, the administration led by President Barack Obama overturned an import ban on Apple iPhones.
In a separate case, the Biden administration declined to veto an import ban on Apple Watches in February of this year. AliveCor, a medical technology company, filed this patent infringement lawsuit.
Apple’s wearables account for a sizable portion of the company’s revenue. According to previously released Apple figures, wearables accounted for USD 8.28 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2023 alone.
