Apple has filed an emergency court order requesting permission to resume sales of its two most popular watches while awaiting a decision on an appeal in an ongoing patent dispute. The tech giant halted the sale of watches just before Christmas, claiming it would suffer “irreparable harm” if the court’s decisions remain in effect during the two-week period in which the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) responds to the appeal.
The disruption caused by the suspended sales is estimated to be around $300-400 million in damages for Apple, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. However, this loss is relatively small for Apple, considering the projected revenues of nearly $120 billion for this quarter, which includes the profitable holiday shopping season.
The patent dispute stems from the ITC’s decision on October 26, which found that Apple had infringed upon two patents owned by Masimo Corp. and Cercacor Laboratories, both American companies. Despite a 60-day review period, the ITC’s decision was ultimately approved on Tuesday, resulting in the removal of Apple watches from store shelves and online sales.
After careful consultations, Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative, decided not to reverse the ITC’s decision, allowing the commission’s ruling to take effect. The online sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 have been suspended in accordance with the ITC order, which prohibits the use of specific technology essential for measuring blood oxygen levels.
Apple argues that the ITC’s decision contains factual errors and that Masimo does not sell a competing product in significant quantities in the United States, therefore suffering no harm if the order is suspended.
Despite these legal challenges, Apple Inc. is performing well in the stock market, with only a slight drop in share prices even as the tech sector sees significant gains in trading on Tuesday. [source](https://apnews.com)
The source of the article is from the blog dk1250.com