Biden won't save the Apple Watch from potential ban

Apple will continue fighting California-based AliveCor over the startup's electrocardiogram (ECG) technology. On Tuesday, AliveCor announced that US President Joe Biden had decided not to veto the US International Trade Commission's (ITC) December ruling that could lead to an import ban on the Apple Watch Series 4 and later.

It's unlikely that Apple's watch will be totally banned. But as The Verge pointed out, AliveCor could walk away with a licensing agreement from Apple to use its patents in the Apple Watch.

According to AliveCor, which has around 150 workers to Apple's 80,000, it shared its ECG sensor technology with Apple in 2015 while building a business relationship, The Hill reported earlier this month. In 2018, Apple released the Apple Watch Series 4, which not only introduced an ECG sensor to the smartwatch but also blocked outside heart monitoring apps. AliveCor said this forced it in 2019 to stop selling KardiaBand, an ECG band that the company announced for Apple Watches in 2016.

"We come up with new technologies, and instead of the ecosystem letting us thrive and continue to build on top of the innovations we already have, Apple cuts us out up front, steals our technology, uses their platform power to scale it, and now is basically saying it's scaled so it can't be cut off," AliveCor CEO Priya Abani said, according to The Hill's February 17 report.

In December, the ITC ruled that Apple infringed (PDF) on AliveCor's patent; however, no import ban is currently in effect. That's because AliveCor is currently appealing (PDF) a December ruling by the US Patent and Trademark Office finding that three of the company's patents in question are invalid, as reported by Reuters. As such, an Apple spokesperson told The Verge this week that the ITC's ruling hasn't impacted the Apple Watch yet.

Biden's decision not to veto the ITC's ruling against Apple, reportedly delegated to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, differs from the last time Apple faced such a ban from the government agency. In 2013, the ITC called for a ban on iPhones and iPads due to Apple infringing on Samsung patents, but then-US President Barack Obama vetoed the ban, following pressure from "phone carriers and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers," according to The Hill. Before then, no president had vetoed an ITC-issued product ban since 1987, so it was unlikely that Biden would veto December's decision, despite Apple's lobbying efforts reported by The Hill.

With Apple and AliveCor seeking appeals, any mandates regarding the Apple Watch may not take effect for another 18 months, The Hill reported this week.

At the same time, Apple is also battling Masimo over the Apple Watch. In May, the ITC will reveal if there will be an import ban on all Apple Watches except for the SE (from the Series 6 and on) after a January ruling found that Apple infringed on the California and Switzerland-based company's pulse oximeter patent.