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A day after an Apple Watch import ban went into effect in the U.S.<\/a>, an appeals court has instituted a pause<\/a>. The halt also comes a day after Apple filed an emergency request with the U.S. Court of Appeals.<\/p>\n The pause will remain in place until the court takes additional action. However, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 remain unavailable on the company\u2019s site nearly a week after initially being pulled.<\/p>\n The fight centers around a pair of trademarks which Southern California health tech company Masimo claims Apple infringed with the wearable\u2019s pulse oximetry sensor. Masimo has also accused Apple of poaching Masimo employees to build the blood oxygen sensor, which first arrived in 2020 with the Watch Series 6.<\/p>\n Apple has yet to respond to TechCrunch\u2019s request for comment on this latest update, but the hardware giant has staunchly denied infringing on Masimo\u2019s IP. After the Biden administration refused to veto the International Trade Commission\u2019s October ruling yesterday, Apple noted, \u201cWe strongly disagree with the USITC decision and resulting exclusion order, and are taking all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Masimo, meanwhile, has positioned the battle as one of David against Goliath. In October, founder\/CEO Joe Kiani noted, \u201cToday\u2019s ruling by the USITC sends a powerful message that even the world\u2019s largest company is not above the law. This important determination is a strong validation of our efforts to hold Apple accountable for unlawfully misappropriating our patented technology.\u201d<\/p>\n Masimo has implied that it could be open to licensing the technology to Apple for a fee, though the latter is currently more interested in exploring all legal avenues.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n