New Apple Watches Could Be Banned From The U.S. Here’s Why – SlashGear

A ban on the import of Apple Watches in the U.S. is plausible, but the road ahead for AliveCor won’t be easy. While the U.S. ITC ruled in November that the import of Apple’s smartwatches should be banned because they infringed on AliveCor patents for heart rate monitoring, the actual execution of a ban order was put on hold. That’s because a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal ruled that the three contested patents owned by AliveCor were invalid, which means Apple didn’t violate any patent laws. AliveCor is currently in the process of appealing the USPTO’s ruling, which went in Apple’s favor. 

Following the ITC’s contradictory judgment, it was left up to President Biden to uphold or reject the ITC’s ban recommendation within a period of 60 days. Now that the President’s office has decided to uphold the ITC’s findings, both companies will now duke it out in an appeals court and get a final verdict that will decide the fate of an Apple Watch import ban. That process could take up to 18 months. Interestingly, Apple hired Shara Aranoff, a lobbyist who chaired the ITC during President Obama’s tenure. Responding to Apple’s move, AliveCor CEO Priya Abani proclaimed that “Apple has unlimited resources. They’re gonna go after everyone they can get and that’s what they’re doing.”