Apple relieved after ban on sales of Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches lifted

Tech giant Apple will be relieved after the US Court of Appeals lifted a ban which halted sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches.

Sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches were banned in the US over a patent row after health company Masimo accused Apple of poaching its staff and technology.

The US’s trade body had barred imports and sales of the watches with technology for reading blood-oxygen levels.

Appeal

The iPhone maker made an emergency request to the US Court of Appeals, which proved successful in getting the ban lifted, according to the BBC.

In December the Cupertino company had “pre-emptively” removed the devices from its US site and from stores in the country while sales elsewhere, including South Africa, have not been affected.

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The tech company welcomed the ruling by the US Court of Appeals.

“We are thrilled to return the full Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year,” an Apple spokesperson said in an email to AFP.

“Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, including the blood oxygen feature, will become available for purchase again in the United States at Apple Stores starting today and from apple.com tomorrow by 12 pm (20:00 GMT),” it said.

Complaint

After a complaint by Masimo, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) decided in October to ban Apple Watch models over a patented technology for detecting blood-oxygen levels.

This was subject to a 60-day review by US President Joe Biden, who has the power to veto the decision. That review period ended on Christmas Day, when the White House decided to keep the ban in place.

The office of the United States Trade Representative Ambassador, Katherine Tai, said on Tuesday that it had decided not to reverse the USITC’s decision after “careful consultations”.

Masimo contends it invented the technology and that Apple poached key employees to win access to the know-how.

In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, Masimo CEO Joe Kiani said his company has spent about $100 million fighting Apple so far, a battle that started in January.

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