President Biden upholds ITC’s ruling on an Apple Watch import ban

The International Trade Commission’s ruling about an Apple Watch import ban has been upheld by President Biden. 

The ITC had imposed a Limited Exclusion Order (LEO) and a cease and desist order on Apple Watches infringing on AliveCor patent; the LEO has cleared Presidential review. The ITC’s ruling in December affirmed that Apple infringed AliveCor’s groundbreaking intellectual property. The LEO will go into effect upon favorable resolution of appeals in the case, including AliveCor’s appeal of the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision.

AliveCor claims the Cupertino, California-based company infringed on patents regarding its ECG “KardiaBand” (pictured) designed for the Apple Watch, among other ECG-focused products.

Following its December 2020 filing of a lawsuit against Apple over patent infringement, mobile ECG firm AliveCor also took its case to the ITC in April 2021. In June the ITC judge backed AliveCor, and has recommended that the ITC undertake a review of the case.

In its December ruling, the ITC said that imports of Apple Watch should be blocked because of the patent infringement. However, the possible ban was put on hold. 

Whether or not the ITC implements an import ban on the Apple Watch hinges upon the result of the appeals process. As 9to5Mac notes, if AliveCor is victorious in its appeal with the US Patent and Trademark Office, the full “Limited Exclusion Order” on Apple Watches would go into effect.