A federal appeals court has decided to revive a U.S. sales ban on Apple’s premium watches while it referees a patent dispute revolving around a sensor
A federal appeals court has decided to revive a U.S. sales ban on Apple’s premium watches while it referees a patent dispute revolving around a sensor, raising the specter that the company will pull the devices from stores for the second time in less than a month.
The ruling issued Wednesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington comes three weeks after it blocked the ban. That temporary stay enabled Apple to renew sales of the two internet-connected watch models, the Series 9 and Ultra 2, embroiled in an intellectual-property fight with medical technology company Masimo.
The U.S. International Trade Commission in late October ruled a blood-oxygen sensor in the Apple Watch models infringed on Masimo’s patents, resulting in Apple briefly ceasing sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 in late December before getting the short-lived reprieve from the appeals court.
Apple is still trying to persuade the federal appeals court to overturn the ITC’s ruling, but Wednesday’s decision means the company is no longer insulated from the U.
