If you’re planning to buy an Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 for someone as a holiday gift, you should probably act quickly. Apple says it will soon suspend sales of both devices in the country due to a patent dispute over the blood oxygen sensor on the wearables. The Apple Watch SE will remain available for purchase as it doesn’t have a blood oxygen sensor.
“A Presidential Review Period is in progress regarding an order from the US International Trade Commission on a technical intellectual property dispute pertaining to Apple Watch devices containing the Blood Oxygen feature,” the company told 9to5 Mac in a statement. “While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand. This includes pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Apple.com starting December 21, and from Apple retail locations after December 24.”
In October, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) upheld a ruling that the Apple Watch violated medical tech company Masimo’s patents. That sent the case to the White House for a 60-day Presidential Review Period. Although President Biden has one more week to decide whether to veto the ITC ruling, Apple has opted to preemptively comply with the commission’s decision. If the president decides against a veto, Apple can appeal to Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, reach a settlement with Masimo or issue software updates that nullify patent infringements (i.e. by deactivating blood oxygen features).
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-will-pause-watch-series-9-and-ultra-2-sales-in-the-us-due-to-a-patent-dispute-142051903.html?src=rss