Sales of Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Watch Series 9 banned in the US

The decision by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in October to order Apple to halt the import and sale of the smartwatches in question, following a complaint by medical monitoring technology company Masimo, was not vetoed by the administration of US President Joe Biden.

With the Biden administration, which had until December 25 to issue a veto, choosing not to do so, the sale of Apple's newest smartwatch models, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Watch Series 9, has been banned in the country.

A statement from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recalled that the US International Trade Commission had determined that Apple infringed on two patents belonging to the US-based companies Masimo and Cercacor Laboratories.

APPLE APPEALS THE DECISION

The statement reported that, following careful consultations, it was decided not to overturn the US International Trade Commission's decision, and that the decision became final as of today.

Apple, meanwhile, has appealed the decision by filing with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Requesting a stay of the decision, Apple asked to await the assessment of US Customs and Border Protection, which will decide by January 12 whether redesigned versions of the watches infringe on Masimo's patents.

The US International Trade Commission, which handles international trade disputes, concluded in October that the Apple Watch's blood oxygen monitoring feature infringed on Masimo's pulse oximetry patents.

Apple announced in a statement on December 18 that it would halt sales of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 in its own stores due to the patent dispute.

It was noted that smartwatch models that do not include the blood oxygen monitoring feature, such as Apple's lower-priced Apple Watch SE model, would not be affected by this dispute.