Apple has big dates coming as it seeks to permanently quash ITC's Apple Watch exclusion order

Apple was able to convince the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to temporarily halt the Exclusion Order placed by the International Trade Commission (ITC) on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. But that hardly means that Apple is out of the woods. After a brief hiatus, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has returned with his weekly "Power On" newsletter and he has compiled a timeline of what we should expect regarding Apple, Masimo, the ITC, and the legal system.

This coming Friday, January 12th, the U.S. Customs agency will have to decide whether a software fix submitted by Apple is enough to prevent the Apple Watch pulse oximeter from infringing on patents held by Masimo. And on January 15th, a week from this coming Monday, Apple will be part of a hearing held by the Court of Appeals. Apple will be arguing that the import ban should be quashed permanently

Gurman expects Apple to resolve this patent issue with Masimo by the end of this month either by getting Customs to agree that the software fix submitted by Apple keeps it from stepping on Masimo's patents. The problem with this scenario is that all indications are that Apple was found to have infringed on a Masimo hardware patent for the pulse oximeter. Still, it is possible that a software revision could help Apple get around the hardware patent.

If the U.S. Customs agency doesn't give Apple the approval it seeks, it will be up to a judge to find that the Apple Watch pulse oximeter doesn't infringe on Masimo's patents or that some point of law was incorrectly applied to the original decision back in January. Nearly a year ago, an ITC judge found that out of five claims Masimo filed against Apple, only one patent was ruled to have been infringed on by the Apple Watch pulse oximeter.

If Apple can't end the patent battle with Masimo through a software fix, or the courts, it might have no option left but to settle with the health tech company. Even if it has to pay Masimo to settle the legal action and license the technology, it will help Apple get rid of at least one headache.

Currently, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 are available in the U.S. without any restrictions.