White House is tracking the Apple Watch ban but no sign of ‘veto’

White House has finally filed an answer on the current Apple Watch ban crisis, saying that the Biden Administration is ‘tracking’ the entire scenario unfolding at the International Trade Commission (ITC).

Bloomberg reports that the Biden Administration is tracking the Apple Watch ban due to a patent infringement complaint filed by medical technology company Masimo.

White House holds the power to veto the entire matter just like former US President Barack Obama did in 2013 against an ITC ban back then.

The top authority in the US still has 60 days to review the ITC order issued on October 26. It means Apple may still be allowed to sell its smartwatches throughout the holiday season.

However, Apple has already announced to pause the online and offline sales of the corresponding smartwatches starting December 21. This decision reflects that the company is not fully confident whether the White House would intervene in this matter at all.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the Biden administration was tracking the Apple Watch trade case. She mentioned that the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai could closely “Consider all of the factors in this case”.

Yet a decision from Tai is still pending.

Backdrop:

Two smartwatches are currently at the center of this entire dispute Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2. These are the latest offering from the iPhone maker.

Masimo claims that these two smartwatches use its patented blood oxygen tracking technology. This claim has been approved by ITC as an infringement of Masimo’s technology.

Meanwhile, Masimo CEO Joe Kiani told Bloomberg that he’s open to a settlement but he said that there was no contact made from Apple to settle the issue.

Kiani blames Apple has hiring over 20 of Masimo’s employees to steal its proprietary technology for its latest smartwatches. However, Apple has denied these claims and said it would explore to appeal against the decision made by ITC.