Apple has announced the removal of the blood oxygen saturation measurement feature from its Ultra 2 and Series 9 watches to continue selling these smartwatch models in the United States.
This decision comes after the company’s request to the U.S. Supreme Court to suspend the ban on selling the mentioned watch models during the appeal period of its conviction for patent infringement against medical technology company Masimo. The conviction was issued by the International Trade Commission.
Anticipating this move, Apple began releasing modified versions of its latest watches without the blood oxygen measurement feature last Tuesday. This action exempts Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9 from the sales ban in the United States, as announced by Masimo.
Masimo commended the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s announcement that the modified Apple watch versions do not include the “pulse oximetry” feature. The company considered this a “positive step towards accountability,” emphasizing the importance of highlighting the respect of one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies for the intellectual property rights of smaller companies, as well as its commitment to the International Trade Commission’s decision when patent violations are proven.
Analyst Tamlin Bason from Bloomberg noted that Apple may have paid a high price to remove its watches from the ban within the United States. He added, “Despite the positive initiative of the company to confront the risk of the ban and avoid it, this move is expected to negatively impact the user’s interest in Apple watches.”
The legal dispute originated from Masimo accusing Apple of exploiting its owned patents to develop the technology behind the blood oxygen saturation sensor. Apple introduced this technology in its watches starting from Apple Watch 6 and later models. However, the ban will only apply to Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9.
Apple faced allegations, according to Masimo’s lawsuit, of actively recruiting around 20 employees from the medical technology company by significantly increasing their salaries, sometimes doubling them. The goal was to form a core team to develop numerous features offered through its smartwatch family, some of which allegedly violated Masimo’s patents.
In 2022, Apple filed two lawsuits accusing Masimo of violating 12 patents related to software features and designs specific to its watches. Apple sought a ban on the sale and trading of Masimo’s smartwatch, W1.
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