Earlier today, Apple appealed the decision to ban imports of Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra, which it referred to as its “two most popular” watches. The appeal occurred after U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration decided not to veto the U.S. International Trade Commission’s order. The tech giant also filed an emergency stay on the ban of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Earlier this month, the ITC ruled it would not halt the ban in the dispute over the blood oxygen monitor in two of Apple's watches, which the medical company, Masimo, claims infringes on its patents. After that ruling, Apple removed the watches from its online store.
What’s Apple’s next move?
"We strongly disagree with the USITC decision and resulting exclusion order, and are taking all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible," Apple said, in a statement to Reuters on Tuesday. In the same story, a spokesperson from Masimo referred to the ITC decision as "a win for the integrity of the U.S. patent system, and ultimately American consumers."
The resulting action has been that you can no longer purchase the two Apple Watch models directly from Apple online. When you attempt to buy, the online store shows “Currently Unavailable.” While the watches are still available in some brick-and-mortar Apple Stores across the country, we reported that they will be removed from sale on Christmas Eve, which was this past Sunday.
According to the filing, Apple says that “the Exclusion Order Enforcement Branch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection is scheduled to decide on January 12, 2024 whether a redesigned version of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2—which—falls outside the scope of the Commission’s remedial orders. At a minimum, the Court should grant a stay long enough for Customs to make this decision.”
It also stated that, "Apple will suffer irreparable harm if the Orders are left in place...."
The filing continues, “Apple accordingly requests that this Court grant an immediate administrative stay of the Orders on an emergency basis, lasting only as long as it takes for this Court to resolve the Stay Motion.”
