During the last few days, a lot of news has been published about a possible ban on the Apple Watch, a legal blockade that would prevent the sale of all models of the company’s smartwatch. Now, depending on where we read it, it seems that the blockade is imminent, that it may be delayed or that it might not happen at all. There is also divergence regarding the geographical scope of this measure, since some media affirm that it is limited exclusively to the United States, others propose it as a global measure, and there are also some that avoid clarifying this point. I have even read that Apple is considering stopping production of its watches if this measure goes ahead.
I think, therefore, that it is important to try clarify what the current situation is, with the data that we have so far, to try to clarify all the doubts that may exist in this regard. And finally I will present my opinion and I will ask you for yours, because like almost everything in this world, this matter is also debatable, especially regarding what will happen later
So let’s start at the beginning. As you already know, the Apple Watch for several generations now, specifically since Series 4 with WatchOS 5.2, It has the electrocardiogram function, a technology that we can also find in other competing watches. This is a function that marked a before and after in terms of the possibilities of this type of device in the field of health.
Some years earlier, Apple had been in talks with AliveCor, which had previously designed a band for the Apple Watch that also offered electrocardiogram functionality. Negotiations came to naught and each company went its own way, but when Apple included this feature in its watch, AliveCor sued those from Cupertino because, according to their arguments, they were violating three patents registered by them.
These types of processes tend to take longer, but finally last December the US International Trade Commission determined that there was such a violation of patents and, consequently, requested that the import of the Apple Watch to the United States be blocked (remember that it is manufactured in China ). At that moment, a very particular period began to run, that of the sixty days that the president of the United States, Joe Biden, had to decide whether or not he would veto that measure. And there is already a precedent in this regard, when Barack Obama prevented the veto on the importation of the iPhone 4 in the United States. However, Biden has chosen not to interfere in the Commission’s decision.
So the Apple Watch is already banned in the United States?
No, and it doesn’t look like it will be, at least in the short term. The reason is that this procedure has involved different agencies and public bodies in the United States, among which we have to pay special attention to the Patent Appeal and Trial Board of the United States patent and trademark regulator. Because? Well, because this body dictated, also last December, that all three AliveCor patents are invalidso they cannot be used to ban the Apple Watch in the United States.
So, and as is common in this type of confrontation, now comes the complicated moment in which regulators and justice must carefully analyze both the current situation and everything that both companies contribute during the process, something that you may have already imagined that It will not be resolved in days or weeks, and it is quite likely that it will not be resolved in months either..
However, how will it all end? That the patent and trademark regulator has determined that the patents are invalid makes it much easier for Apple, although at this point claims can also be made, so we cannot give that position as definitive. Let’s say that at this point the advantage is on the Apple scoreboard, but we must not rule out possible new twists that reverse that position.
Therefore, and responding to one of the questions raised at the beginning, this hypothetical veto exclusively affects the United States, Apple could continue to freely sell its Apple Watch in the rest of the world. And at this point comes what I also commented at the beginning, would Apple stop producing the Apple Watch if its sale in the United States is vetoed? I personally don’t think so. Obviously their local market is important for those of Cupertino, but abandoning the dominant position that it has, on a global scale, in the smartwatch market, because the closure of a particular region, seems like a decision made thinking of losing a lot of money, and that is something that in Apple is unimaginable.
What do you think? Do you think there will finally be a veto or not? And if so, do you think Apple would abandon the smartwatch market globally?
