Apple Watch Patent Rulings Reflect Force, Failings of Import Ban

Rulings in different venues in a fight over Apple Watch imports show both the power and limits of the US International Trade Commission when patent owners try to block infringing products from reaching American markets.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 19 upheld the ITC’s 2023 exclusion order against Apple Inc. The panel found no error in the agency’s determination that certain Apple Watch models with blood-oxygen measurement features infringe Masimo Corp.’s patents and that the medical-device maker proved it has a qualifying domestic industry.

A day earlier, Administrative Law Judge Monica Bhattacharyya issued a ...