Administration Won't Block Exclusion Order on Apple Watches, Section 337 Filer Says

The Biden administration will purportedly not move to block a limited exclusion order from the International Trade Commission on Apple watches, according to AliveCor, the company that brought the underlying Section 337 complaint.

"The ITC’s Limited Exclusion Order on Apple Watches infringing on AliveCor patents became the first-ever LEO against Apple to clear Presidential review," an AliveCor spokesperson said. A representative from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative contacted the company to say that the administration would not be vetoing a December decision by the ITC that found Apple had infringed on heart monitoring patents held by AliveCor, the company spokesperson said.

The ITC determined in December to issue a limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order against imported Apple Watches for patent infringement (ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1266) but suspended the enforcement pending a patent decision by the Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (see 2212290020). That body ultimately held that the patents were invalid. The exclusion order would not go into effect until resolution of all appeals in the case, including AliveCor’s appeal of the PTAB's decision. If enforced, the LEO will bar Apple from importing Apple Watches with the infringing intellectual property into the U.S. for sale, AliveCor said.

Reached for comment, an Apple spokesperson said the company plans to appeal the ITC's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.