U.S. Regulators Ban Apple From Selling Some Models of Signature Product

The Biden administration declined to veto a decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban imports of Apple Watches on Tuesday. As a result, the tech giant can no longer sell its Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches in the United States, after initially pausing sales last week.

The ruling comes following a dispute from the medical monitoring technology company Masimo, which has accused Apple of poaching employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology for the Series 9 and Ultra 2 models. However, the ban does not affect the Apple Watch SE model, which doesn’t incorporate a blood oxygen sensor into the design.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the company filed an emergency request to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to pause the ban until a decision can be made whether redesigned versions of the watches infringe Masimo’s patents. Last week, the ITC rejected a request from Apple to pause the ban during the appeal process. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection will reportedly make a decision on Jan. 12 as to whether Apple is found of wrongdoing.

“We strongly disagree with the USITC decision and resulting exclusion order, and are taking all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible,” a spokesperson for Apple said in a statement.

In compliance with the federal agency, Apple paused sales on the Series 9 and Ultra 2 on the company’s website on Dec 21 and in retail locations on Dec. 24, just before the holidays. However, as of Tuesday, the models in question were still available from retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, while supplies last.