The U.S. International Trade Commission decided to hold a new proceeding to determine if imports of Apple’s (AAPL) updated Apple Watches should be banned as part of a patent dispute with Masimo (MASI), Reuters reported.
The ITC said that it would probe if Apple Watches, which were redesigned to circumvent a previous import ban issued by the Commission, still infringe Masimo patents covering blood-oxygen measurement technology, the report added.
The regulator expects to complete the probe in six months.
Apple said the case was a meritless attempt to block its watches’ blood oxygen feature and that Masimo had copied its watch design to bring the complaint, the report noted.
Apple and Masimo did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
The two companies have been in a legal tussle on multiple fronts.
On Friday, a California federal court jury awarded Masimo (MASI) $634M in damages after finding that Apple (AAPL) infringed one of its patents.
In 2023, the Commission blocked imports of Apple’s Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches after finding that Masimo’s patents were infringed. Apple removed blood-oxygen reading technology from its watches to avoid the ban.
In August, Apple introduced a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users through an iPhone and Apple Watch software update. The update was enabled following approval from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. However, Masimo filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection over its decision to allow Apple to import Apple Watches with blood-oxygen feature technology during the patent dispute between the companies.
A California judge declared a mistrial in Masimo’s trade-secret case against Apple in 2023 after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Last year, Apple won a minimal $250 verdict against Masimo in Delaware in a countersuit over allegations that Masimo’s smartwatches infringe two Apple design patents, the report noted.