Apple is allowed to temporarily sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the U.S. again as it looks to extend the time before it has to appeal the ban.
A new report from Bloomberg claims that Apple requested a delay, and now the court has until Jan 10th to choose whether or not to grant it. The window of time until then, while we wait for the court to decide, is what’s allowed Apple to start selling the de-listed watches again. The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 were pulled from the online U.S. Apple Store on Dece 21st and store shelves on the 24th. Other retailers could continue to sell the watches, but there was no way to receive more stock.
To eliminate the whole dispute, Apple has submitted a software update to the U.S. Customs agency that it believes will fix the overlapping tech, but those findings aren’t set to go live until Jan 12th.
Medical tech company Masimo has been leveraging patent claims at Apple since 2020, when the tech giant first added heart rate sensing to the Apple Watch. Now, the US International Trade Commission has claimed that Apple has infringed on two patents related to heart rate and blood oxygen seasoning, leading to a ban on the newest Apple Watch models for violating the patents.
The ban hasn’t been extended outside of the U.S., so Canadians can still purchase Apple Watches, but if the company is found at fault for patent theft, it could have larger repercussions worldwide that are still unclear.
Source: Bloomberg
