Apple Inc. scored a legal victory Wednesday when a U.S. appeals court temporarily blocked a government commission’s import ban on popular Apple Watch models following a patent dispute with medical-technology firm Masimo Corp.
The court’s order allows Apple to temporarily resume selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. Both watches were pulled from Apple’s
AAPL,
website last week and off store shelves this week when the ban went into effect. The appeals court is weighing a longer halt on the import and sales ban.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would resume sales.
On Tuesday, the tech giant filed an emergency request for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to halt the ban at least until U.S. Customs and Border Protection decides whether redesigned versions of its watches infringe Masimo’s
MASI,
patents.
The appeals court’s decision will allow the U.S. Customs department to consider Apple’s redesign of the offending Apple Watch models. A fix is expected by Jan. 12. Apple said in the motion Tuesday it could “suffer irreparable harm” if the ban is kept in place while the appeal is ongoing.
Shares of Apple are flat in trading Wednesday.
