Apple Watches will be on sale this week despite an import ban from the U.S. International Trade Commission over Apple’s use of copyrighted blood oxygen reading technology.
On Wednesday, the tech giant announced it would remove the oxygen tool from the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. The watches were to go on sale Thursday. When customers try to use the feature, they will be redirected to Apple’s website.
The removal of the technology lets Apple continue to sell the watches despite an import ban issued by the ITC. Apple says it hopes its most recent appeal will lead the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to overturn the import ban. Should the court overturn the ITC’s decision, Apple would be able to sell the watches with the blood-oxygen reading technology.
The maneuver is the latest in a battle over intellectual property that Apple lost. The ITC ruled in October that the firm infringed on health-tech company Masimo’s copyright on blood-oxygen reading technology by including it in Apple Watches.
After President Biden failed to overturn the ITC’s ruling, the models were banned in December. The appeals court issued an injunction on the ban until Wednesday when it told Apple to quit using the oxygen tech.