Apple Scores Big Win in Watch Patent Case

Apple has scored a major victory in the dispute over its two most advanced Apple Watches. An appeals court has paused the import ban on the company's Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches, which it stopped selling last week, CNBC reports. The company filed an emergency motion to halt the ban on Tuesday, hours after the Biden administration declined to veto it, reports Reuters. Apple is appealing an International Trade Commission ruling that the blood oxygen measurement feature on the watches infringes on a patent held by American medical tech company Masimo, the AP reports. The Oct. 26 order became final on Dec. 26.

Apple argues the ITC ruling contains multiple factual errors; a ruling from the trade commission is expected by Jan. 10. "This is a big win for Apple that was unexpected by many given the legal issues involved in this patent battle," says Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, per Reuters. "Masimo now has a big fight ahead. We expect an appeals case in January to be a big moment." Masimo's stock price sank more than 6% after the Wednesday ruling. (More Apple Watch stories.)