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More from Apple Watch ban: everything you need to know

Jacob Kastrenakes
Jacob Kastrenakes
I don’t think Biden is particularly focused on the Apple Watch ban.

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.”

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Masimo CEO thinks Apple can’t code its way out of the Watch ban.

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.

Why the Apple Watch is being banned — and how Apple can avoid it

At this point, experts say the ITC’s import ban is highly likely, but what does that actually mean for Apple long term?

Victoria Song
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Apple is scrambling on software changes to attempt to resolve the ITC’s Apple Watch ban.

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.