Court reinstates import ban on certain Apple Watches amid patent dispute

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied Apple's bid to pause the ban on certain Apple Watches during its appeal of a trade court ruling. This comes a day after a court filing from medical monitoring firm Masimo indicated Apple’s redesigned Apple Watches can bypass the import ban if they're redesigned to exclude the blood oxygen sensor at the center of the patent dispute.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) imposed an import ban on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 last month after the ITC found the watches’ pulse oximeters, which read blood oxygen levels, infringed on Masimo’s patents. Apple appealed the ruling and got a reprieve pending a decision by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which was determining whether the redesigned watches were covered by the ITC’s ban.

Attorneys for Masimo wrote in a court filing that on Friday, Jan. 12, the CBP’s Exclusion Order Enforcement Branch determined that "Apple’s redesign falls outside the scope of the remedial orders" in the ITC ban. The filing noted that Apple explained that its redesigned watches "do not contain pulse oximetry functionality" and added that Apple has maintained that certain information from the exclusion order enforcement hearing is confidential, so no copy of the CBP decision was included in the filing or has been made publicly available.

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied Apple's bid to pause the ban while it appeals the ITC ruling, meaning that the company won't be able to import or sell the Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches that contain blood oxygen sensors at the center of the dispute.

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"Apple’s arguments lead to the conclusion that the EOE Branch decision finding the redesign outside the scope of the remedial orders would eliminate any irreparable harm alleged by Masimo," the filing stated.

A Masimo spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement, "Apple's claim that its redesigned watch does not contain pulse oximetry is a positive step toward accountability. It is especially important that one of the world's largest and most powerful companies respects the intellectual property rights of smaller companies and complies with ITC orders when it is caught infringing."

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Apple has included a pulse oximeter feature in its smartwatches since its Apple Watch Series 6 was released in 2020.

Masimo sued Apple that winter, alleging the tech giant stole trade secrets related to technology for reading blood oxygen levels and infringed on its patents. Apple then countersued Masimo for patent infringement, alleging that its actions were a legal "maneuver to clear a path" for a competing smartwatch. Masimo released its W1 watch which tracks blood oxygen levels and other health indicators in 2022.

In 2021, Masimo asked the ITC to block imports and sales of Apple Watches that allegedly infringed its patents. That led to the ITC’s ruling in favor of Masimo last year and the ban taking effect in December. Apple briefly paused sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches in the days before Christmas before the decision, though it resumed sales after the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals then said it would put the ban on hold while it considered Apple’s request for a stay for the duration of its appeal.

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On Wednesday, the Federal Circuit denied Apple's request for a stay – meaning that the import ban and halt on sales of Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches will remain in effect while Apple's appeal of the ITC ruling plays out.

Before the ruling, Apple said Tuesday that the Series 9 and Ultra 2 remained available for sale with the blood oxygen feature.

Versions of the Apple Watch that don’t contain the blood oxygen sensor are unaffected by the patent dispute and can continue to be sold without being redesigned.

Reuters contributed to this report.