The Apple Watch faces a possible US import ban, thanks to a decision made this week by the Biden White House. iMore reports that the Biden Administration has decided not to dispute a ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC) that was back in December 2022. That ruling stated Apple had violated patents from AliveCor and used them inside recent models of the Apple Watch.
AliveCor claims that Apple used its electrocardiogram technology inside the Apple Watch models without permission. The ITC not only ruled for AliveCor, but also put in a cease and desist order against Apple, which means the smartwatch would be banned from being imported into the US.
This week Priya Abani, the CEO of AliveCor, sent out a statement on the Biden Administration"s decision not to veto the ITC ruling.
We applaud President Biden for upholding the ITC"s ruling and holding Apple accountable for infringing the patents that underpin our industry-leading ECG technology. This decision goes beyond AliveCor and sends a clear message to innovators that the U.S. will protect patents to build and scale new technologies that benefit consumers.
Right now, that cease and desist order has been put on hold, because AliveCor is appealing another decision, this time by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board. That group ruled that those AliveCor patents were in fact unpatentable. However, this new decision against Apple by the Biden Administration puts more pressure on Apple to try to resolve the situation.