Apple (AAPL.O) stated on Wednesday it would remove the blood oxygen monitoring feature from two advanced Apple Watch models in the United States as medical company Masimo (MASI.O) sued the iPhone manufacturer, Reuters reported.
The legal action could take a year, with analysts expecting Apple would strike the feature rather than withdraw the devices from sale in one of its biggest markets.
The company announced that Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models went on sale without the feature on its website and in retail shops starting at 6 a.m. Pacific Time (2 p.m. GMT) on Thursday.
Apple shares fell 0.5 per cent to $182.68 after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Wednesday that the company could no longer sell models at the centre of a legal dispute with Masimo over technology patents.
In December, Masimo secured a decision from the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to stop importing the devices. According to Counterpoint Research, the Apple Watch accounts for about a quarter of the global smartwatch market.
Joe Kiani, Masimo’s founder and chief executive, stated that Wednesday’s court decision “affirms that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and must deal with the consequences when they are caught infringing others’ patents.”
Apple claimed it “strongly disagreed” with the ITC’s decision and the resulting orders, and they should be cancelled.
Series 9 and Ultra 2 models sold in the US from Thursday will still have an app icon for the blood oxygen measurement features. However, when users tap on those icons, they report that the features are not available.
Masimo accused Apple of hiring its employees and stealing pulse oximetry technology for use in the Apple Watch. The ITC banned Apple from importing and directly selling the Apple Watch, which measures blood oxygen levels, following a complaint from Masimo.
Apple has asked the federal district in Washington to suspend the ban during the appeals process, which is likely to take several months. It argued that it would likely win the appeal and that keeping the ban in place would harm the company, its suppliers and the public.
The Commission countered that Apple’s arguments “amount to little more” than a mere statement by a patent infringer asking for “permission to continue infringing.”
Apple included a pulse oximeter feature in smart watches starting with the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020. The company has countersued Masimo for patent infringement, calling Masimo’s lawsuits a “maneuver to clear a path” for its own competing watches.
