Sometimes, the measures that the law imposes to solve a problem are so harsh that few believe they will be applied. We have seen the exception to this in the United States: a patent conflict in the United States has ended sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the country. A dry stop that had never been seen before.
But in the end this ended up lasting less than two days. A court of appeals has allowed the company to once again be able to sell the latest generations of watchesrecovering normality both in its physical Apple Store and in the online store.
Two more weeks to sell the new Apple Watch without problems
The scene in the American Apple Stores was unprecedented: only the Apple Watch SE could be displayed and sold on the counters. A situation that not even a server believed would be reached, when it came to the sales of the largest company in the world. The only way to buy the rest of the models was to go up to Canada or run to third-party chains like Best Buy (they could legally sell those models while supplies last).
But Cupertino's lawyers have been able to move quickly, launching an appeal that has been accepted. Now the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9 can be sold again, although A new decision from that appeals court will be issued on January 12, 2024.. It will be then when we will know if the smartwatch from Apple have to withdraw again or they can continue on the exhibition tables. You can see the full PDF of the appeal on The Verge.
An infringed patent and a late-night email to Tim Cook
All of this soap operaLet us remember, it is caused by the alleged infringement of a patent by Apple detected in 2020. Said patent, created by the company Masimo, addresses blood oxygen sensors that use the most advanced models of Apple Watch.
Bloomberg has revealed what can be described as the origin of everything: an email that Tim Cook received with a proposal to develop “the new technology trend” to turn Apple into the best company in the health and well-being market. Whoever made the proposal ended up working at Apple, but it turns out that that employee was the CTO of a sister company of Masimo. Now that email is included as evidence in the trial and appeal.
As Apple was quick to recruit the proponent, Masimo felt it was being victimized. poaching (hiring employees from another company to obtain their talent) and went to court. We will see the next step in January, when the appeals court makes a decision. Apple Park's lawyers have to be very, very busy right now.
Image | Samuel Angor
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