Apple Watches with blood oxygen tech are banned again

Update January 17th, 8:52PM ET: Apple has confirmed that versions of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 without blood oxygen features will go on sale starting January 18th at 9AM ET. Our original story continues below.

In the latest twist in Apple’s ongoing patent battle with Masimo, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has denied extending an interim stay on the Apple Watch ban. That means Apple will once again have to stop selling its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 devices that have the technology enabled starting at 5PM ET on January 18th.

This is an obvious setback for Apple, which has been scrambling to find a way to circumvent the International Trade Commission’s import ban. A letter from Masimo earlier this week revealed US Customs and Border Protection has approved a measure to remove the blood oxygen feature from relevant Apple Watches.

Doing so would purportedly allow Apple to resume selling the devices, but Apple has yet to confirm that it’ll take this step. A report from Bloomberg said Apple Watches with the software modification had already been shipped to Apple Stores.

The ban initially went into effect last month after the company was found to be infringing on Masimo’s patents for blood oxygen monitoring. It was then lifted a day later, after the federal appeals court issued a temporary stay.

“The Federal Circuit’s decision to lift the temporary stay is a victory for the integrity of the American patent system and the safety of people relying on pulse oximetry,” Joe Kiani, CEO and founder of Masimo, said in a statement. “It affirms that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and must deal with the consequences when they are caught infringing others’ patents.”

Update, January 17th, 6:16PM ET: Updated to include statement from Masimo.