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Apple Watch Won't Face Import Ban as Apple Wins AliveCor ITC Battle

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Apple today scored another victory in the ongoing lawsuit that AliveCor levied against it in 2021, with the federal appeals court confirming the invalidation of three patents that AliveCor claimed Apple violated with the Apple Watch. As a result, the court has vacated an ITC ruling that could have led to an Apple Watch import ban.

Kardia-Band-apple-watch.jpg

In a statement to MacRumors, Apple thanked the court for its work and said that it will continue to develop new Apple Watch health features.
We thank the Federal Circuit for its careful consideration in this case. Apple's teams have worked tirelessly over many years to develop industry-leading health, wellness and safety features that meaningfully impact users' lives, and we intend to stay on this path."
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After AliveCor sued Apple, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) initially found that Apple had violated three AliveCor patents related to heart rate monitoring and ECG technology. Apple then asked the USPTO's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to review the patents, and the board found that several claims were not patentable, ultimately invalidating the patents and weakening AliveCor's case against Apple.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) still went on to recommend a limited exclusion order and a cease-and-desist for the Apple Watch, which Apple appealed given that the patents involved in the case were invalidated. The order was suspended while appeals on both sides played out, with Apple seeking an appeal of the ITC ruling and AliveCor appealing the PTAB ruling invalidating the patents.

The federal appeals court upheld the ruling invalidating the patents, and vacated the ITC's decision as a result, so there will be no Apple Watch import ban in the AliveCor case. In a statement to MacRumors, AliveCor said it was disappointed with the decision.
We are deeply disappointed by the Court’s decisions this morning and that the Court did not review the available secondary considerations, which the ITC found to be persuasive in their finding of validity. Today's ruling does not affect our business or ability to continue innovating for our growing base of millions of customers.

These cases go beyond AliveCor; these cases represent every small company and every future innovation that is at risk of being suppressed by a Goliath. Our fight against Apple is necessary to preserve innovation, fair competition, and the ability to ensure that inventors - both today and of the future - have the IP protection needed to build and scale new technologies.

We will continue to explore all available legal options, including potential appeals, to defend our position that our patents are valid and that Apple infringed our intellectual property rights. As we move forward, our focus remains on transforming the industry with clinically validated, AI-powered solutions that help democratize access to cardiac care.
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Last year, AliveCor's antitrust lawsuit against Apple was also dismissed, a decision that AliveCor is appealing.

Apple has not been as successful in a different legal battle against blood oxygen company Masimo, and Apple Watch models in the United States are still subject to an import ban. Apple has disabled blood oxygen sensing technology in Apple Watch models sold in the U.S., and has not yet been able to reinstate it.

Article Link: Apple Watch Won't Face Import Ban as Apple Wins AliveCor ITC Battle
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/07/apple-alivecor-itc-win/
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jz0309 said:
well, Apple was trying to invalidate the patents in question, Apple could be in negotiations with Masimo, Apple could be designing an alternative method for SpO2 ...
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Masimo's CEO was recently forced out in a proxy battle, but it's very probable the well has been so poisoned Apple still wants the courts to invalidate all the patents rather than pay a dime.
 
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GMShadow said:
Masimo's CEO was recently forced out in a proxy battle, but it's very probable the well has been so poisoned Apple still wants the courts to invalidate all the patents rather than pay a dime.
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yea, hence my question. I find it hard to believe that we won't see SpO2 (in the US) til 2028 ...
 
Good win for Apple. Hopefully that should remove some troubles from its path. Waiting to see blood oxygen measurement reinstated in the models sold within US.
 
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What I find interesting from all of this is that Apple obviously hasn't found a way yet to implement it on their own without breaking someone else's patent otherwise they most definitely would have sped up the process to get it back to the US. This indicates that they broke the law intentionally to get that feature shipped out
 
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svish said:
Good win for Apple. Hopefully that should remove some troubles from its path. Waiting to see blood oxygen measurement reinstated in the models sold within US.
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Unrelated. "Apple has not been as successful in a different legal battle against blood oxygen company Masimo, and Apple Watch models in the United States are still subject to an import ban"
 
jz0309 said:
well, Apple was trying to invalidate the patents in question, Apple could be in negotiations with Masimo, Apple could be designing an alternative method for SpO2 ...
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Apple already appealed to the highest court the patent can go to and lost, so unless there is an agreement between the companies, the ruling stands.
 
TigerNike23 said:
My mind isn’t totally clear on this, was this the one where Masimo was going to do a smartwatch and Apple sued?
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The appeal is regarding the 10,627,783 patent. It's basically Apple's patent for the design of watch with a circular biosensor, battery, and charging coil.

Nothing to do with SpO2 but it's an Apple negotiation tactic. Masimo W1, like other watches, use a similar design.
 
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dannyyankou said:
Oh ok. So has Apple exhausted all options on this? I know they asked an appeals court in April of last year to reverse the ban. I can’t find any updates since then.
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Yes. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board and ITC upheld their decisions a long time ago. Apple then filed a Hail Mary appeal last year with the CAFC, but it has nothing to do with patents. It basically claimed the ITC erred in authority, process, and law. It's like a constitutional argument - Apple isn't going to win that one.

Apple is waiting until 2028. Everything about CEOs and workarounds is just noise. This battle is over 5 years old. Apple can wait another 3 years.
 
JPack said:
Pretty much this. The patent appeals process was already completely exhausted last year. Not sure what “update” people are still waiting for.
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And sales of the series 9, series 10, and Ultra2 don't seem to have been affected by the ban. Makes one wonder just how important this feature is to the market at large. My wife’s series 7 has the feature and she rarely even looks at it. As always, though, the screamers get the press.
 
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GMShadow said:
Masimo's CEO was recently forced out in a proxy battle, but it's very probable the well has been so poisoned Apple still wants the courts to invalidate all the patents rather than pay a dime.
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That is kind of what you would do if you don’t think you’re violating a patent. From what I read Apple has a good chance of at least partial success .
 
lkrupp said:
And sales of the series 9, series 10, and Ultra2 don't seem to have been affected by the ban. Makes one wonder just how important this feature is to the market at large. My wife’s series 7 has the feature and she rarely even looks at it. As always, though, the screamers get the press.
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Apple's own expert witness testified in court that the global profit generated by the SpO2 feature in the Series 6 and 7 Apple Watches amounted to $34 million. It's a nothingburger which is why waiting for 2028 is the likely outcome given all the appeals have failed.
 
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russell_314 said:
What needs to happen is these patent trolls need to be held financially accountable. When people start having their property auctioned off to pay for damages this will stop
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If you are referring to Masimo, they are definitely NOT a patent troll. They are multi-billion dollar company and have many patents and medical devices in the market.
 
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