Technology giant Apple has decided to remove the blood oxygen monitoring feature from its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watch models in the United States. This is because an American court upheld a previous order banning the sale of the company’s watches on Thursday, January 17, due to its violation of a patent for this medical technology.
The ruling comes after a legal battle between Apple and Masimo, a medical technology company that claimed the former violated its patents. The feature was allegedly introduced by the latter.
A US appeals court granted a temporary stay three weeks ago, allowing the two watch models to be restocked at US retailers. That was after the tech giant removed the watches from its website and shelves shortly before Christmas, amid the ongoing legal dispute.
However, in late October, the US International Trade Commission announced that Masimo's patents had been infringed by a blood oxygen sensor used in some Apple Watch models.
Apple is disabling the blood oxygen feature on Series 9 and Ultra 2 watch models in the US
Recently, Apple landed in hot water over a feature that got the company into trouble. As a result, the blood oxygen level display feature has been disabled on Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches.
This is due to the company's patent battle with another subsidiary of California-based Masimo, a health technology company. While the patent dispute is pending, the multinational technology company was previously allowed to sell Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches with the feature.
However, the tech company, founded by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, chose to disable the feature rather than stop selling its watches in the US, as a result of the recent court decision.
In the decision against the company, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit maintained import restrictions on the devices imposed by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in December 2023. Moreover, the models in question cannot be accepted. They were imported after 5:00pm local time on Thursday, January 18, according to the court decision.
In addition, the blood oxygen indicator will still be present on the Series 9 and Ultra 2 devices that will be released in the US starting Thursday, but when users tap on it, a notification will appear saying that the technology is not available.
According to the BBC, the iPhone maker also hinted in a press release on Thursday that it would turn off the feature, stating that it “strongly opposes” the court's ruling.
The statement also stated,
“Pending appeal, Apple is taking steps to comply with the ruling while ensuring customers have access to Apple Watch with limited interruption.”
In addition, it also stated that it plans to appeal the decision, arguing that the ban would harm the public, the company and its suppliers.
On the other hand, Masimo CEO Joe Kiani sees the ruling as a boost to intellectual property rights. He uploaded a post to X stating that the decision was a “victory for American innovation.” According to CBS NewsHe added, in an official press release, that
“It underscores that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and must deal with the consequences when they are caught infringing on the patents of others.”
In a related development, US Customs and Border Protection concluded that the technology manufacturer could redesign the models in question without violating ITC guidelines.
On the other hand, the blood oxygen feature can still be used as usual by customers who previously purchased the Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches in the US. For watches purchased outside the United States, the sensor will still work.
