“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,” Apple said in a statement shared with 9to5Mac. The decision to stop the sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Ultra 2 comes as a precautionary measure from Apple. Following the October verdict by the US ITC, the agency issued a limited exclusion order for an import ban that was supposed to come into effect 60 days after the second round of court battles between the two companies.
The drama dates all the way back to 2013, when Apple reportedly invited multiple med-tech companies, including Masimo, to meet as it was developing the first-generation Apple Watch. However, after initial discussions, no deal materialized between Apple and Masimo. Over the years, Apple reportedly poached Masimo’s talent as it continued development of a feature that was allegedly based on the pulse oximeters developed by Masimo.
“I have to stop [Apple] from using my technology,” Masimo CEO Joe Kiani recently told Forbes. Apple still has legal avenues to avert any long-term sales ban and import restrictions on the targeted smartwatch models. It is also worth noting that older Apple smartwatches with a blood oxygen sensor are not affected by this decision. As for Masimo, it has sued Apple twice since 2020 over the theft of trade secrets.