Apple Watches could be banned in the US

Apple Watches could get banned from being imported into the US after the government decided not to veto an important ruling against them.

Since it was first released in 2015 the Apple Watch has been through several major changes and incorporated a variety of new features.

At the very least it's managed to avoid going the way of devices like Google Glass, but one of those features the Apple Watch has gained over the years is causing it some problems.

Newer models of the smartwatch have something called electrocardiogram technology, which allows the watch to monitor your heartbeat for lots of health and exercise purposes.

This is where the problems have sprung from, as back in 2017 California based company AliveCor launched a product called a KardiaBand, an accessory to the Apple Watch which had this heart-monitoring tech.

A year later the KardiaBand was rendered obsolete when the Series 4 Apple Watch was released with its own built-in electrocardiogram tech, meaning there was no more need for the accessory.

Jim O Donnell / Alamy Stock Photo

AliveCor then accused Apple of patent infringement, and in 2021 took its complaint to the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

Back in December the ITC ruled that Apple Watches with the electrocardiogram function did indeed infringe upon AliveCor's patents.

The ITC said the importation of these watches to the US should be banned, which would mean no new Apple Watches for the American market since they're made overseas.

However, the ban has not come down yet because there is a separate dispute between Apple and AliveCor in the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which ruled that AliveCor's patents were invalid.

The USPTO ruled that the device should never have been patented in the first place as a person of 'ordinary skill' in electrocardiogram technology could have come up with the same device.

One group says the Apple Watch is a case of patent infringement and should be banned but the ban they would normally apply is on pause because the other group says the patent is invalid.

AliveCor

If Apple had been hoping that the US government would bail them out of a potential jam by vetoing the trade commission's decision then the tech giant will be sorely disappointed.

A spokesperson for AliveCor said they'd been informed that the government wasn't going to veto the decision, but any potential ban on Apple Watches is still being held up while Apple and AliveCor clash over patent issues.

Apple and AliveCor have said they are going to be appealing against the decisions which did not go their way and while this process is ongoing any possible ban is going to be put on hold, and would only happen if AliveCor won their appeal and Apple lost theirs.