The U.S. government confirmed its decision to ban the import of some Apple Watch models that have been suspected of patent infringement. Since Apple Watch is mainly assembled in China, the import ban effectively bans sales in the United States. Apple immediately appealed to federal court.
On the 26th (local time), the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it had decided to maintain the decision of the International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban the import of Apple Watch. President Joe Biden accepted USTR’s review opinion and did not exercise his veto. In October, the ITC issued an import ban on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 products with blood oxygen measurement functions, believing that they infringed on the patents of Masimo, a small and medium-sized medical technology company.
Among previous U.S. administrations, there have been rare cases of vetoing ITC decisions. However, in 2013, then-President Barack Obama exercised his right to veto the ITC’s decision that Apple had infringed on Samsung Electronics’ patents and allowed the import of products produced in China, such as the iPhone 4 and iPad 2, into the United States.
The sales portion of the Apple Watch within Apple is small at about 4.7%, but with this measure, Apple can only sell the older model, the Apple Watch SE, in the U.S. market, so Apple Watch sales in the U.S. are expected to decrease. Immediately after this decision, Apple filed an appeal with the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Apple argued in its appeal that “if the ITC’s ban is maintained, it will suffer irreparable harm.”
The industry believes that it will not immediately lead to a benefit for competitors such as Samsung Electronics. This is because smartwatches typically use products from the same manufacturer as smartphones. However, if the sales ban is prolonged for more than three months, Apple’s brand image may be harmed and its smartwatch market share may change.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.