(San Francisco) An official American body has recommended a ban on imports into the United States of certain models of Apple’s connected watch, accused by the manufacturer of medical devices Masimo of having copied its technologies for measuring the level of oxygen in the blood, we learned Thursday from the two companies.
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has issued a “limited exclusion order” against the models in question, expected to take effect in 60 days unless the US government objects, said Masimo, a company based in California, in a press release.
Apple products, including connected watches, are designed in the United States, but manufactured in factories located in China, Taiwan or Vietnam, and belonging to subcontractors, the main of which is the Taiwanese Foxconn.
Masimo did not specify which models were affected by this decision. The company brought Apple before the USITC in 2021 by arguing that the Apple Watch 6, a model put on sale in 2020 and the first to include a function for measuring the level of blood oxygen saturation, copied one of its technologies patented, light-based.
“The USITC’s decision sends a strong message that even the largest company in the world is not above the law,” said Masimo CEO Joe Kiani.
Apple said it would appeal the decision in federal court. “Masimo improperly attempted to use the ITC to prevent millions of American consumers from having access to a potentially life-saving product, while making room for its own watch that copies Apple’s,” accused the group in a response to a question from AFP.
Apple launched the ninth version of its connected watch in September.