Apple blocks bid to ban new watch imports at US Court of International Trade

Apple blocks bid to ban new watch imports at US Court of International Trade

Unlike earlier, the updated version displays health data ⁠from the blood-oxygen reader on associated devices like the iPhone and not on smartwatches

A U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) has preliminarily ruled that the tech giant's current Apple Watch do not infringe patents owned by the medical-monitoring company, Masimo. It dismissed Masimo’s bid for a renewed import ban on Apple’s smartwatches.

Apple had earlier altered its watches to circumvent an import ban that the International Trade Commission (ITC) issued in 2023.

In a recent ruling, an ITC judge agreed that Apple’s redesigned watches did not violate the Irvine, California-based medical monitoring technology ⁠company’s patent rights in blood-oxygen reading technology. However, the final decision will be taken by the full Commission.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ⁠has also affirmed the tribunal's 2023 ruling that blocked Apple from importing Apple Watches that infringed Masimo's patents. However, Apple has since resumed importing its redesigned product.

Gung-ho over the ITC decision, Apple’s statement said, “We shall evaluate all avenues for further review of the Federal Circuit's ruling. For six years, Masimo has brought dozens of false claims against Apple, nearly all of which have been rejected.”

The cases are part of a contentious, multi-front patent fight between Apple and Masimo. The latter accused Apple of poaching its staff to steal its pulse-oximetry innovations that are used for determining blood oxygen levels.

In December 2023, the ITC had blocked imports of Apple's Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches on noting infringement of Masimo's patents.

However, Apple removed blood-oxygen reading technology from its watches ⁠to avoid the ban. In August 2025, it reintroduced an updated version of the technology with approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Thereafter, Masimo sued CBP over its approval of Apple’s redesigned watches.

Unlike on earlier watches, the tech giant’s updated version displays health data ⁠from the blood-oxygen reader on associated Apple devices like the iPhone.

In another case, Masimo sued Apple in the US District Court in California for patent infringement and trade-secret theft and won $634 million in a patent trial in November 2025. Apple intends to appeal the verdict soon.