How will the Apple Watch be redesigned to avoid being banned in the US?

(CNN) — Apple got permission to modify the operation of its smart watches in order to avoid the ban imposed by a United States court on some Apple Watch models. The revamp will eliminate a feature that Apple has marketed as a way for customers to keep a closer eye on their health.

According to documents filed in federal court on Monday, Apple successfully proposed redesigning the Apple Watch so that the watches would not have pulse oximeter functionality, a medical scanner that measures the concentration of oxygen in the bloodstream. The revelation of the redesign approval came from Joseph R. Ray, who successfully sued Apple for patent infringement.

According to the lawsuit, the Enforcement Division of the United States Customs and Border Protection determined that the proposed redesign of Apple’s Watcj models would allow the company to continue importing smart watches into the United States. Although the process itself is confidential, Massimo’s lawyer confirmed that the government had no objection to Apple importing the Apple Watch, as long as it did not include a pulse oximeter function.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

Apple successfully filed a lawsuit to temporarily block the U.S. International Trade Commission’s decision that barred the company from importing the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, among other new models, because they were manufactured by Masimo. Used to infringe the patent. The ban took effect on December 26, but on December 27, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the measure.

According to the company, at the moment, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 with the pulse oximeter function are on sale in the United States. Apple said it expected the appeals court to rule on its motion to block the ban when the process begins this week.

After the ban went into effect last month, Apple said it was considering legal and technical options to resume imports of the most advanced watches, including the new Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches, pending approval by US authorities. Includes design submission. Apple had expressed its “strong disagreement” with the ban and promised to “take all measures” to bring the Apple Watch back to US customers soon.

Apple argued in its appeal against the ban that it could suffer “irreparable harm” if the ban continued while its appeal was resolved. But Ray noted Monday that Apple can no longer claim irreparable harm from the import ban, now that an alternative solution has been approved.

The company has regularly marketed its smartwatch as a life-saving device, which has helped launch the Apple Watch to the top, making it the best-selling watch in the world. But his dispute with Massimo threatens to weaken him.

On December 18, Apple began removing the Series 9 and Ultra 2 versions of the Apple Watch from its Store as a precautionary measure in anticipation of the ruling coming into effect. However, sales resumed soon after the December 27 court order.