WASHINGTON: US Customs and Border Protection has said that Apple can use a redesign watch to bypass an import ban on newer Apple Watch models, Western media reported on Monday.
The issue stemmed from a patent infringement dispute between Apple and the medical-monitoring technology company Masimo.
The import ban, imposed by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), applies to Apple’s current Series of 9 and Ultra 2 watches and initially came into effect on December 26.
Apple appealed a US court to pause the ban the next day, and has since resumed selling the watches as it contests the import ruling.
The company had argued that a proposed redesign would moot findings that the watches infringe blood-oxygen reading patents created by Masimo.
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Apple has not publicly described the redesign, which could involve an update to the software of the watches. The customs department’s decision could be overruled if the ITC disagrees with it.
Masimo blames Apple of hiring away its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology to use in Apple Watches. Apple has termed Masimo’s legal actions a maneuver to clear a path for its own smartwatch.
The ITC stopped Apple’s imports and sales of watches with technology for reading blood-oxygen levels based on accusations that they infringe two Masimo patents.
Apple has added a pulse oximeter feature in smartwatches since its Series 6 Apple Watch in 2020. Apple briefly stopped its sales of its latest Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches in the United States before Christmas due to the ITC decision.
