Apple could see one of its leading products barred from being imported into the United States sometime around Christmas unless the White House steps in or a patent dispute is resolved.
The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled last week that specific models of the Apple Watch breach patents held by the medical gadget designer Masimo. The company now has 60 days either to resolve the matter or face an outright ban. The current patent series, as they stand, only apply to Apple Watch models from the Series 6,7, 8, and 9 collections since they contain the medical trackers that appear to resemble Masimo's patents.If the matter is not resolved by Dec.
Masimo alleges that Apple's reputation for innovation is unearned and that it has made a practice of"efficient infringement," according to the New York Times. This is when a company uses another company's technology and deals with the legal fallout afterward. Apple, as a trillion-dollar company, has the funding required to shoulder any possible legal fees or court cases.
Apple maintains that it respected Masimo's intellectual property, according to court documents. However, Masimo presented evidence that Apple had hired its former chief medical officer and 20 other employees from the company. This indirect process would have allowed Apple access to the intellectual power behind Masimo in designing its own products. For example, this could apply to Apple reportedly adapting the oxygen tracker in the Apple Watch from Masimo's past work.