Filing: as part of the Masimo patent fight, the US CBP decides that Apple can avoid a ban and sell the Watch Series 9 by removing its pulse oximetry features

The U.S. Customs agency has handed down its decision on whether Apple's proposed redesign of the Apple Watch Series 9 …

9to5Mac 2024-01-16 Chance Miller

Context & Ripple Effects

The decision follows the administration’s refusal to overturn the ITC import remedy and an appeals-court temporary pause of the Watch import ban. It gives Apple a narrower route to keep the Series 9 on sale while the underlying Masimo dispute continues.

It also turns a patent-enforcement fight into a product-design question: whether disabling a health-sensing capability is sufficient to distinguish the imported device from the barred version.

First-order effects

Apple can continue selling the Watch Series 9 under the proposed redesign, but buyers lose pulse-oximetry functionality on affected devices.
Masimo retains the practical benefit of restricting the disputed feature even though Apple avoids a full sales interruption.

Second-order effects

Apple’s immediate remedy is software and feature configuration rather than withdrawing the hardware, making regulatory-compliant product variants a central part of its response.
The outcome raises the stakes for CBP’s interpretation of redesigned products; that authority later became a direct point of conflict in Masimo’s challenge to a CBP ruling on restoring blood-oxygen tracking.

Third-order effects

If this approach holds, import remedies in connected devices may increasingly be resolved through feature disablement, separating a product’s hardware availability from its software-enabled capabilities.
The case points to a broader contest over who determines whether a software change cures a patent violation: trade authorities, courts, or the patent holders challenging those decisions.

The trend: Patent disputes over sensor-rich devices are increasingly being settled at the software-feature layer rather than through all-or-nothing hardware bans.

Discussion

@flasheeto @flasheeto on threads
This is a good insight. I find that the only apps I use on my watch anymore are made by Apple. Do you think this means the value prop of the device has gone down or that the things it does best are the things Apple builds?
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
The current state of the Apple Watch ban: - Apple can successfully avoid the ban by removing blood oxygen from its newly sold watches, per US Customs. - However, that is now a backup scenario in the event the U.S. Federal Appeals Court rejects Apple's motion for a one year stay …
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Apple hasn't commented on blood oxygen being removed - but it seems like the removal will only apply to newly sold watches (not ones already in use) - and that's why they are now shipping modified units to retail stores.
@dylanmcd8 @dylanmcd8 on x
I figured this was likely going to happen. Sad to see an important medical feature removed over a patent dispute. Really hope Apple can just work this out.
@snazzylabs @snazzylabs on x
My Apple Watch Ultra 2 with blood oxygen is now for sale at the low, low price of $3,499.
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Apple says the federal appeals court will hear its motion for a stay (it believes this would last a year) as early as tomorrow. It appears the dramatic step of removing blood-oxygen would only take place if this appeal fails. The feature remains until then.
@rsgnl Joe Rossignol on x
Masimo spokesperson: “Apple's claim that its redesigned watch does not contain pulse oximetry is a positive step toward accountability. It is especially important that one of the world's largest and most powerful companies respects the intellectual property rights of smaller com…
@parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on x
So new Ultras and Series 9 watches won't have blood oxygen but they don't have to remove it from ones that were previously sold? Am I reading that right?
@gregorymcfadden @gregorymcfadden on x
Wow this story just keeps getting crazier... Honestly blood oxygen isn't a huge feature, but so weird to have it basically taken away from the product.
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
US Customs have approved Apple's workaround to get around the import ban on the latest Apple Watches by disabling the pulse oximeter features which violate Masimo's patents. It is wild to me that Apple has gone this route instead of licensing the patent. https://9to5mac.com/...
@ipfray @ipfray on x
Apple free to import Apple Watch into U.S. market after removal of pulse oximetry feature: court filing Apple may now also seek approval of a version of the Apple Watch that does provide the feature, yet keeps clear of infringement of Masimo's #patents. https://ipfray.com/... [im…
@ipfray @ipfray on x
BREAKING: #Apple is free to import the #AppleWatch into the U.S. market again. #Masimo just informed Federal Circuit that U.S. customs has cleared the workaround! @ipfray predicted that outcome. There was much ado about nothing. Article on https://ipfray.com/ coming shortly.
@florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x
Note that Apple has removed all pulse oximetry functionality. On that basis, U.S. customs said the Apple Watch no longer falls within the scope of the ITC import ban. So it's not a workaround of the kind where end users still get the same functionality. It's a feature removal.

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