Apple has agreed to remove a blood oxygen measurement tool from two of its Apple Watch models so it can avoid a sales ban on the devices in the U.S., Bloomberg reported.
The decision came after Apple stopped sales of its Series 9 Watch and Ultra 2 Apple Watch models over a dispute over a patent with Masimo, a company that makes pulse oximeters.
Pulse oximeters measure the amount of oxygen in a person’s red blood cells.
The watches were taken out of stores after the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the watches’ blood oxygen sensors violated Masimo’s patents. The devices were banned the day after Christmas.
Masimo issued a statement calling Apple’s decision a “positive step toward accountability,” Bloomberg reported.
“It is especially important that one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies respects the intellectual property rights of smaller companies and complies with ITC orders when it is caught infringing,” a Masimo spokesperson said.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) in October upheld a ruling handed down earlier in the year that sided with Masimo in a suit against Apple. Masimo sued Apple in 2021 for patent infringement over the Apple Watch Series 6.
According to the suit, Masimo claimed that Apple poached employees to steal trade secrets related to its light-based technology for measuring blood-oxygen levels.
The Apple Watch Series 6 was the first smartwatch to include a feature that measured blood-oxygen levels.
According to The Hill, the Biden administration had 60 days from the October ruling to decide whether to veto the ban or let it go into effect. On Dec. 26, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives issued a statement saying it would not intervene.
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