U.S. customs officials have provided Apple a loophole to continue selling Apple Watches in the United States after the tech giant was banned from doing so over a patent dispute.
Officials from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection decided on Friday that Apple could continue to sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the U.S. if it disabled the pulse oximeter, according to a filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The product was initially banned by the International Trade Commission in late December due to a patent dispute between Apple and the medical technology company Masimo over Apple’s implementation of a blood oxygen tracker into the device. While the federal court is still considering Apple’s appeal, the CBP decision could allow Apple to sell devices while the matter is resolved.
The CBP “decided that Apple’s redesign falls outside the scope of the remedial orders in the ITC Investigation underlying Apple’s appeal,” Masimo’s lawyers said in a Monday filing.
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Apple announced in December that it was pausing the Series 9 and the Ultra 2 sales in anticipation of the ITC ban, which went into effect on Dec. 26. The appeals court put the decision on temporary hold on Dec. 27 while considering Apple’s request for an extended hold during the appeals process.
Apple had hoped the White House would veto the ban before Christmas last December. Katherine Tai, the U.S. trade representative, declined Apple’s request.
