US President Joe Biden is said to have refused to veto an order from the US International Trade Commission (ITC), related to the importation of some Apple Watch models into the US.
According to SlashGear, in December 2022, the ITC ruled that Apple had infringed a patent of AliveCor – a company based in California (USA) specializing in providing comprehensive cardiovascular care and services. AliveCor claims to be the global leader in electrocardiogram (ECG) technology that has been approved by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and is also found in the Apple Watch. But the ban still has to be approved by President Joe Biden.
Now, AliveCor says Joe Biden has upheld the ITC’s order to impose an import ban on the Apple Watch. In addition, AliveCor said it is also working on an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, which is expected to go to trial early next year.
AliveCor claims it shared its heart rate monitoring technology with Apple in 2015 for the purpose of scoring the partnership, but that didn’t go as planned. Instead, AliveCor ended up selling its own heart rate monitor accessory after Apple launched a smartwatch with ECG technology in 2018. Before that, the ITC also ruled against Apple in 2013 in a patent dispute filed by Samsung regarding the second-generation iPad.
Even so, the ITC’s ban on Apple Watch imports has in fact been postponed. The reason is that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has ruled that the three patents in dispute owned by AliveCor are invalid, meaning the Apple Watch does not infringe any patents, this helps give Apple an edge, so AliveCor is currently in the process of appealing the USPTO’s ruling.
In addition, after being approved by Joe Biden of the ITC ban, both Apple and AliveCor will take the matter to the appeals court before issuing a final decision, which is expected to take up to 18 months.