In a notable development in US intellectual property law, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has granted a temporary stay against the import ban of Apple's latest smartwatch models. This decision, dated December 27, 2023, arrived in the wake of a patent infringement finding by the International Trade Commission (ITC) favoring Masimo, a fellow California-based medical device manufacturer.

The legal skirmish traces back to January when a pulse oximetry sensor, employed by Apple in its smartwatch design, was ruled to infringe upon patents held by Masimo. Apple's stance was that Masimo, not being consumer-oriented, was not a suitable partner for collaboration or acquisition. Conversely, Masimo contended that Apple engaged in misleading negotiations before appropriating its technology and poaching its engineers.

Following the ITC's affirmation of the infringement ruling in October, the process to ban the importation of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models commenced, with a review period allotted to the current administration. The Biden administration, in contrast to its predecessor's intervention in a similar Apple-Samsung dispute in 2013, opted to abstain from involvement. Preempting the official ban commencement scheduled for December 26, Apple ceased sales of the contested watch models just days prior, leaving only the older, non-infringing Apple Watch SE on the market.

In response to the ITC's decision, Apple expressed strong disagreement and declared its intention to restore the availability of the affected Apple Watch models to US consumers posthaste. The tech giant appealed to the CAFC to stay the ban pending a determination by US Customs and Border Protection on whether its redesigned Apple Watches circumvent Masimo's patents. This decision is expected by January 12, while the ITC has been given until January 10 to respond to Apple's arguments.