0 Facebook x.com Reddit
Apple has now argued in a US appeals court that the US ITC ban on the Apple Watch with pulse oximetry should be overturned.
The company has been involved in a patent dispute with medical technology company Masimo for more than a year. The case, which does not involve previous Apple Watch models, alleges that Apple copied Masimo's patented technology when implementing the blood oxygen detection feature in Apple's two most recent models.
Apple Appeal
The US Court of Appeals has finally returned to the case between Apple and Masimo to hear Apple's appeal of the ITC's April 5 decision. The company told the court that Masimo's ITC victory was based on two erroneous assertions: the validity of Masimo's affected patents and Masimo's assertions that it manufactured competing products.
At the hearing, Apple told the court that Masimo's patents on technology for measuring blood oxygen levels are invalid. Apple's lawyers also said they had evidence that Masimo's statements about plans to create a competing product at the time of the original case in 2021 were “purely hypothetical” because Masimo had not invested any funds in creating such a product.
“The International Trade Commission exceeded its statutory authority by issuing an injunction in a case where the requisite domestic industry” did not exist, Apple said in its court filing.
The ITC's decision was also flawed because it was based on “substantially flawed” patent decisions, Apple said, some of which have since been invalidated. Masimo updated its original pulse oximetry patents “six days after the launch of the Watch,” which were “clearly written to trap the new Apple Watch,” Apple claims.
Masimo was eventually forced to admit that its claims to develop its own smartwatch were based on CAD drawings. At the time of the hearing of the case, no such subject matter existed and, therefore, the ITC exceeded its authority.
Masimo will have the opportunity to refute Apple's claims when filing an appeal. Apple could have won relief from any of the charges against the ITC's original decision, but the fact that Masimo had no competing product may be Apple's strongest argument.
Case at the moment
International Trade Commission U.S. Office in ruled in Masimo's favor in early 2023, but Apple filed a federal lawsuit to prevent the ban. A mistrial occurred when the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
Apple asked the White House to lift the ITC ban, but the administration ultimately decided not to do so. Just days before Christmas, Apple stopped sales of its latest two models in the US to comply with the ITC's decision.
Three days after the ban began, Apple persuaded the US Court of Appeals to temporarily halt the ITC ban. During the trial, US Customs and Border Protection concluded that simply disabling the controversial feature would be sufficient to invalidate the ITC ban.
In mid-January, when the ban expired, Apple disabled the pulse oximetry feature on the latest Apple Watch models. This allowed sales to continue in the United States.
By disabling this feature via a software update, Apple can re-enable it when and if it receives a favorable court decision. Masimo's patent on the controversial technology expires in August 2028.
Follow AppleInsider on Google News.
