Apple could lose between $300-400 million in revenue as a result of the import ban on select Apple Watch models.
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Apple has appealed the decision that forced it to stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2.It said the ban would harm the company and deprive customers of “potentially lifesaving features.”Apple pulled the watches after regulators ruled they violated patents owned by health firm Masimo.
Apple is fighting back against the ban on its newest Apple Watches in court.
The tech giant has filed an appeal against the International Trade Commission decision that banned sales and imports of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the US. The firm has argued it would suffer “irreparable harm” if it can’t sell the watches.
Apple said in court docs that the import ban would leave it unable to “sell its two most popular Apple Watch models… to potentially millions of US consumers,” and that it “deprives consumers of a product with potentially lifesaving features.”
The iPhone maker has been forced to pull the two latest models of its smartwatch from its online and physical stores after the ITC ruled its blood-oxygen sensing technology infringed on patents owned by health-tech company Masimo.
Apple is currently waiting for the US Customs and Border Force to decide on January 12 whether redesigned versions of the two models fall outside of the ban order and can be sold, according to court docs.
The company asked the court to allow it to start selling the watches again while it waits for this decision to come through and for the appeal to be considered.
Apple is reeling from the ruling, which went into effect on Christmas Day after the Biden administration declined to veto it.
The company is facing between $300 to $400 million in lost revenue, analysts estimated, and Apple’s engineers are reportedly working furiously to devise software modifications that would satisfy the regulator and allow it to start selling the watches again.
However, Masimo has argued that major hardware changes to the two Apple Watch models will be needed to comply with the ruling.
The medical company sued Apple in 2020 and has accused the Silicon Valley stalwart of “deliberately taking” its intellectual property and poaching 25 of the company’s engineers, which Apple has denied.
A Masimo spokesperson previously told Business Insider that the ruling “demonstrates that even the world’s most powerful company must abide by the law.”
Apple has said that it “strongly disagrees” with the regulator’s decision and that the company is taking measures to ensure that the affected Watches are put back on sale as quickly as possible.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.