More from Apple Watch ban: everything you need to know
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said yesterday that the administration is “tracking this case and the December 25th deadline” — after which imports of new watches will be banned over a patent dispute.
Jean-Pierre indicated that the US Trade Representative will be the one making the decision on whether to block the ban:
“Ambassador Tai is obviously carefully considering all of the factors in this case, so I don’t want to get ahead of any decisions that may come out of USTR. But she certainly has the authority to decide.”
Joe Kiani, whose company’s patent claims may halt sales of Apple’s newest smartwatches, explained his skepticism to Bloomberg.
“I don’t think that could work — it shouldn’t — because our patents are not about the software,” he said. “They are about the hardware with the software.”
Former US Patent Office director Andrei Iancu told The Verge Apple has a chance, albeit a slim one, depending on the patents’ wording.
At this point, experts say the ITC’s import ban is highly likely, but what does that actually mean for Apple long term?
On Monday evening, Bloomberg reported the work on algorithm changes that it could submit to the US customs agency in hopes they’ll be approved to get the devices back on the market, plus a few other details about Apple’s response to the ban.
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