The sale of Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 has been officially banned in the United States since yesterday. This is to comply with the order of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) which banned the importation of these two smart watch models into the country after Apple was found guilty of subscribing to Masimo Corp.'s oximeter patent.
Apple earlier halted sales of the Ultra 2 and Series 9 in the United States in preparation before the order was issued. There were rumors that an update would be given to watchOS to allow sales to continue but this did not happen. Last week Apple still had hope that President Biden might use his veto power to block the ITC order but this also did not happen. Apple has already submitted an appeal to the ITC to have this import barrier lifted.
Masimo Corp. sued Apple a few years ago for alleged unauthorized use of its blood oxygen detection oximeter technology. The ITC sided with Masimo and as a result the two latest Apple Watch models are now banned. In addition, Apple is also facing a lawsuit from Alivecor who claims that their ECG technology is also being used without permission. Like Masimo, Alivecor also petitioned to have the Apple Watch banned from importing into the U.S. until this case is resolved.