A U.S. law enforcement agency has determined that Apple can use a redesign to bypass an import ban on newer Apple Watch models stemming from its patent infringement dispute with Masimo, the medical-monitoring technology company said in a court filing on Monday.
The import ban, issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), applies to Apple's current Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches and initially went into effect on Dec. 26. Apple convinced the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to pause the ban the next day, and has since resumed selling the watches as it contests the import ruling.
Apple had said that a proposed redesign would allow it to circumvent findings that the watches infringe Masimo's blood-oxygen reading pulse oximetry patents. Apple has not publicly described the redesign, which could involve an update to the watches' software.
According to Masimo's filing on Monday with the Federal Circuit, Apple told the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency that its redesigned watches "definitively do not contain pulse oximetry functionality." Apple's filings with U.S. Customs and the agency's decision, issued Friday, have not been released publicly.
"Apple's claim that its redesigned watch does not contain pulse oximetry is a positive step toward accountability," a Masimo spokesperson said on Monday.
Apple said on Monday that Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches with blood-oxygen reading capabilities are still available.
Irvine, California-based Masimo has accused Apple of hiring away its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology to use in Apple Watches after discussing a potential collaboration.
Apple has included a pulse oximeter feature in smartwatches since its Series 6 Apple Watch in 2020.
Masimo sued Apple in California that year, alleging that Apple stole trade secrets related to technology for reading blood-oxygen levels and infringed Masimo patents.
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