Apple suspends gross sales of fashions of its watch within the United States attributable to patent issues | EUROtoday

Published on : 12/18/2023 – 10:19 p.m.Modified : 12/19/2023 – 5:28 p.m.

2 minutes

A tough blow for Apple. The American tech big introduced, Monday, December 18, the suspension of the sale within the United States of a number of fashions of its linked watch, attributable to a dispute regarding a patent linked to the detection of the oxygen degree within the blood.

This resolution comes after the advice on October 27 by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) to ban the importation into the United States of sure fashions of Apple’s linked watch, accused by the producer of medical gadgets Masimo of getting copied its applied sciences.

The USITC issued a “limited exclusion order” towards these fashions, supposed to come back into drive after sixty days except the American authorities objects, Masimo, an organization primarily based in California, mentioned on the time.

A evaluation of this advice is presently underway by President Joe Biden’s workplace.

“The (presidential) review period does not end before December 25, but Apple is taking pre-emptive measures to respect the decision if it were to be confirmed,” a spokesperson defined to AFP on Monday. of the American group.

These measures embody the suspension of gross sales of Apple Watch Series 9 – launched in September – and Apple Watch Ultra 2, from December 21 on the large’s web site and after December 24 in shops, this supply continued.

Mutual accusations of mental property infringement

“The ITC’s expert judgment should be respected in this case,” famous a Masimo spokesperson, contacted by AFP on Monday. “The decision to exclude certain models of the Apple Watch manufactured abroad proves that even the most powerful company in the world must respect the legislation protecting intellectual property rights,” he famous.

For its half, Apple believes that the American physique is fallacious and that its resolution needs to be annulled, which it is able to search in court docket if needed.

Masimo filed a criticism with the USITC in 2021, arguing that the Apple Watch 6, a mannequin placed on sale in 2020 and the primary to incorporate a operate for measuring the extent of blood oxygen saturation, copied certainly one of its patented applied sciences, primarily based on mild.

“Masimo improperly attempted to use the ITC to prevent millions of American consumers from having access to a potentially life-saving product, while making room for its own watch that copies Apple’s,” accused the Cupertino group on the finish of October.

Apple launched two authorized actions on the finish of 2022 for non-compliance with patents towards Masimo, accusing it of copying the expertise of its watches.

With AFP