The White House has made it clear that it is closely monitoring the developments surrounding the recent U.S. International Trade Commission’s ruling that prohibits the sale and trading of Apple’s smartwatches, specifically Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. This decision follows Apple’s legal defeat against Masimo, a medical technology company.
As reported by Bloomberg, the White House’s involvement in the case is noteworthy due to President Joe Biden’s authority to intervene and potentially overturn the ban on the sale of Apple watches in the United States. The window for intervention remains open until December 25.
Apple recently announced its preparedness to comply with the court ruling by enforcing a ban on the sale of its watches, starting on December 21 through its online store and December 24 in physical stores, as well as through various other retail partners.
In response to Apple’s readiness for the ban, Masimo’s CEO, Joe Kiani, interprets this move as an attempt to exert pressure on the U.S. president to intervene and reverse the decision. He characterizes Apple’s actions as a “deliberate violation of intellectual property rights,” as conveyed in a television interview with Bloomberg.
The focal point of Masimo’s legal action against Apple revolves around the technology underpinning the blood oxygen saturation measurement sensor, introduced by Apple in its smartwatch lineup from Apple Watch 6 onwards. Notably, the sales ban will only impact Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Apple is additionally accused, in Masimo’s lawsuit, of actively recruiting approximately 20 employees from the medical technology company by offering them significantly higher salaries, sometimes double their previous rates. Allegedly, these employees were sought to establish a core team responsible for developing various features across Apple’s smartwatch range, some of which directly infringe upon Masimo’s patented inventions, as reported by Reuters in October.
In his televised interview with Bloomberg, Kiani emphasized that Apple did not necessarily need to hire employees from Masimo, as the medical technology company had already expressed willingness to collaborate with Apple to provide advanced medical capabilities for Apple Watch users.
Masimo’s CEO also affirmed that his company remains open to settling the lawsuit, humorously stating, “Tango dancing takes two,” implying that Apple has yet to initiate discussions about a potential resolution.
Apple has declared its intention to exhaust “all possible legal and technical avenues” to resume the sale of its smartwatches in the U.S. market as swiftly as possible. Concurrently, its engineers are actively developing a software update aimed at altering the functionality of blood oxygen saturation measurement features and their information presentation. This strategic move is designed to sidestep the sales ban in the U.S. mandated by the court decision, according to a Bloomberg report.
However, Masimo’s CEO dismisses the idea that the software update could serve as a comprehensive solution to the crisis, asserting that his company’s patented inventions cover both physical components and software systems. These, he claims, Apple has leveraged in providing features for measuring users’ blood oxygen levels in its smartwatches.
Kiani underscored that the ban on selling Apple’s smartwatches in the United States would have been implausible if the watches were locally manufactured. Nevertheless, the ban became enforceable since Apple Watch is produced outside the borders of the United States.
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