It seemed like no one could challenge Apple. Cupertino’s team has managed to establish themselves as one of the most prolific companies, which at one point even pushed their market value to 3 trillion dollars. However, money can’t always save us. Now, Apple is facing an order that could ban the sale of Apple Watches in the United States.
The reason behind this potential ban lies in patents. The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) issued an order last Thursday concluding that Apple’s smartwatches violated the patents of the medical technology company Masimo. This confirms the judgment issued by a judge in January 2023 regarding the said infringement.
As reported by Reuters, the technology that has caused this situation is a patent related to “electronic wearables with light-based pulse oximetry functionality.” Basically, it refers to the processes that allow the Apple Watch to measure our pulse and perform electrocardiograms.
Could Apple get out of this mess? The truth is that it has several options. To begin with, Tim Cook’s company has the option to modify the software of the watches. Furthermore, once the review period is over, Apple could appeal the ban to the United States Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Lastly, Joe Biden’s administration could also potentially intervene and overturn the decision.
Joe Kiani, CEO of Masimo, has made all sorts of accusations against Apple. Some of these include poaching several Masimo employees for Apple’s benefit and stealing trade secrets. In fact, the latter case went to court but resulted in a mistrial last May.
