Apple said it would “pause sales” of its flagship smartwatches online starting Thursday and at retail locations on Christmas Eve.  The International Trade Commission found several Apple Watches infringe on patents held by Masimo, a medical technology company.

In court, Masimo detailed how Apple poached its top executives and more than a dozen other employees before later releasing a watch with pulse oximeter capabilities -- which measures the percentage of oxygen that red blood cells carry from the lungs to the body -- that were patented by Masimo.

 To avoid a complete ban on sales, Apple had two months to cut a deal with Masimo to license its technology, or it could appeal to the Biden administration to reverse the ruling.

Masimo chief executive Joe Kiani said Apple had not engaged in licensing negotiations and appealed to President Biden to veto the ITC ruling.

He said Apple was trying to make the ITC look like it's helping patent trolls.

 Kiani said he was willing to sell Apple a chip Masimo had designed to provide pulse oximeter readings on the Apple Watch. The chip is currently in a Masimo medical watch called the W1; the Food and Drug Administration approves that.

The device uses algorithms to process red and near-infrared light to determine how oxygen-rich the blood in arteries.

"If they don't want to use our chip, I'll work with them to make their product good," Kiani said. "Once it's good enough, I'll license them."

Unlike Masimo's W1 device, Apple hasn't had its watches cleared by the F.D.A. for use as a medical device for pulse oximetry.