March 7 - Apple ( AAPL ) convinced a U.S. appeals court

on Friday to uphold its win against medical device maker

AliveCor in a patent dispute that could have led to an import

ban on Apple Watches.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed

the invalidity of AliveCor heart-rate monitoring patents that

the company had accused Apple ( AAPL ) of infringing, negating a U.S.

trade tribunal's ruling that Apple ( AAPL ) had violated AliveCor's

rights.

An AliveCor spokesperson said the company was "deeply

disappointed" by the rulings and is exploring "all available

legal options, including potential appeals." The spokesperson

said the decision does not affect AliveCor's ongoing business.

An Apple ( AAPL ) spokesperson said its teams have "worked tirelessly

over many years to develop industry-leading health, wellness and

safety features that meaningfully impact users' lives."

Mountain View, California-based AliveCor sought a ban on

Apple Watch imports at the U.S. International Trade Commission

in 2021. It accused the tech giant of infringing three patents

related to AliveCor's KardiaBand, an Apple Watch accessory that

monitors a user's heart rate, detects irregularities and

performs an electrocardiogram to identify heart problems like

atrial fibrillation.

AliveCor told the commission that Apple ( AAPL ) copied its

technology starting with Series 4 Apple Watches and drove it out

of the market by making the iOS operating system incompatible

with the KardiaBand.

The U.S. Patent Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board

invalidated the patents at Apple's ( AAPL ) request in 2022. The ITC

determined weeks later that AliveCor would be entitled to an

import ban on infringing Apple Watches if the patents were

valid, but paused the ban while the Federal Circuit considered

appeals.

The Federal Circuit agreed with Apple ( AAPL ) on Friday that

AliveCor's patents were invalid and dismissed the ITC case.

Apple ( AAPL ) was hit with a separate import ban on some Apple

Watches in 2023 as part of a patent dispute with Masimo ( MASI )

over blood-oxygen monitoring technology. Apple ( AAPL ) has appealed the

decision and resumed selling the watches after removing the

technology.

The AliveCor cases are AliveCor Inc v. International Trade

Commission, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No.

23-1509 and AliveCor Inc v. Apple Inc ( AAPL ), U.S. Court of Appeals for

the Federal Circuit, No. 23-1512.

For Apple ( AAPL ): Melanie Bostwick of Orrick Herrington &

Sutcliffe, Mark Davies of White & Case

For AliveCor: Sean Pak of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

Read more:

Apple ( AAPL ) wins AliveCor smartwatch patent challenges ahead of

import ban ruling

Apple Watches violate AliveCor patents but import ban on

hold -U.S. ITC