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US Won't Block Possible Apple Watch Ban


FILE: The new Apple Watch Series 4 at an Apple Inc.product launch event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. Taken Sept. 12, 2018.
FILE: The new Apple Watch Series 4 at an Apple Inc.product launch event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. Taken Sept. 12, 2018.

The Biden Administration will not overrule a U.S. International Trade Commission decision that could block imports of Apple Inc's. Apple Watches for infringing AliveCor Inc. patents related to heart monitoring, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Tuesday.

The ITC ruled in December that imports of Apple's smartwatches should be banned for infringing AliveCor's patents, but it placed the ban on pause while related proceedings over the patents run their course.

An AliveCor spokesperson also said it had been informed there would be no veto of the ruling. Any ITC ban is still on hold while Apple and AliveCor continue to clash over the patents.

Apple said Tuesday it will appeal the ITC's import ban decision, which it said would have a negative effect on public health.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office found the patents invalid earlier that month, in a ruling that AliveCor has said it will appeal.

Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The ITC had no comment.

The White House had 60 days to decide whether to veto the ITC's Dec. 22 ruling based on policy concerns.

Presidential vetoes of ITC import bans have historically been rare. However, the Obama administration reversed a ban on some iPhones and iPads in 2013 in a patent fight between Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, citing its effects on U.S. consumers and economic competition.

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