Apple is unable to persuade it to convince the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to extend an imminent import ban on its watch series nine and Watch Ultra 2; in an application discovered through the Verge Verge, the ITC rejected an appeal Apple requested to stay the ban while appealing the ruling.
In October in October, in October, the US International Trade Commission (ITC), which oversees intellectual property and trade disputes, sided with a previous decision of an ITC judge, who said Apple had violated patents of the medical technology company Masimo by incorporating technology for tracking blood oxygen on a few of its watches.
The following day, Apple announced its plans to take its Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 off the shelves of its stores following an October ruling by the ITC that said the SpO2 sensors manufactured by Apple violated patents of the maker of medical devices Masimo. The deadline to buy these watches, Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, at Apple stores, will be on December 24. The import ban is set to take effect on December 26. Apple is currently looking into options to avoid this ban, for instance, by making changes to software in the coming days, as reported by Bloomberg.
In light of the reasoning outlined in Commission Opinion, which was released concurrently with this, the Commission is deciding to reject Apple’s appeal to stay order to modify the orders in case of appeal or due to a possible shutdown of the government,” The ITC’s report states. Apple didn’t immediately respond to The Verge‘s demand for comment.
Although Apple has stated that it plans to contest the ruling, which could take over one year to decide the issue, Apple’s first goal is to change the ban by Christmas. The fate of the day lies in the hands of the White House.
The Biden administration was given 60 days after the ITC order was made on October 26 to deny the ruling; the review period expires on December 25.
However, analysts suggest a last-minute intervention by Biden is not likely.
Six times, an ITC decision was rescinded in 2013 in 2013 when President Barack Obama vetoed a decision to prohibit specific iPhone and iPad models.
Apple has also been searching for solutions via updates to its software, people familiar with the situation have told Bloomberg.
The Apple Watch was introduced in 2015; the device rapidly gained popularity and accounted for 30 per cent of the world market for smartwatches in 2022, According to Statista.
The ban could result in $300-$400 million in loss during the holiday season -which is a tiny fraction in comparison to the $120 billion in revenue the firm will earn between October through December.
Based on the arguments outlined within the Commission Opinion that was issued simultaneously with The Commission has decided to reject Apple’s request to stay remedies orders until appeal, and due in the event of a shutdown by the government,” the ITC said in its document.
Apple did not immediately reply to the request for comments from Pocket-lint.
The following day, Apple announced it was “preemptively taking steps to comply” with an ITC decision directing Apple to cease imports and sales for the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 as a response to the court’s decision, which found Apple was infringing patents issued by Masimo, a medical device manufacturer based in California. Masimo.
Beginning in December. 21 between 3 and 5 pm ET. The Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 are no longer available for purchase in the US through Apple’s online store. From December. 24, Apple will also end sales of both watches in the greater than 270 stores they operate across the US.
Following the ITC approval of the import ban in October, the agency sent the matter for review to the Biden administration for review by the president. The 60-day timeframe for this procedure expires on December 25. However, the possibility that the president will intervene for Apple’s benefit is considered to be unlikely, considering that it could negatively impact other American businesses. Furthermore, Apple has already had luck with a US president who vetoed the import ban. In 2013, President Obama blocked the iPhone selling ban from going into effect when he intervened in Apple’s favour in a case involving Samsung.
As per reports from Bloomberg, Apple engineers are trying to develop an application that will let the company continue selling its Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US. But, the outcome to meet the requirements of the ITC is still being determined.
The ban only takes force in the US; however, third-party stores like Best Buy will only be allowed to offer these watches once they are exhausted. Even though Apple’s effort to prevent the restriction has been unsuccessful, the company still could reverse the ban if President Joe Biden vetoes it. But, as my colleague Victoria Song points out, Apple getting a presidential vote to block the ban “would be like lightning striking the same place twice.”