Apple will once more be barred from promoting watches with blood oxygen sensors starting Thursday, a federal appeals courtroom mentioned Wednesday.

The ban may complicate Apple’s operations and weigh on its gross sales.

The U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Federal Circuit lifted an interim keep which had beforehand allowed gross sales of the Apple Watch 9 to renew.

Nonetheless, the courtroom left the door open for a doable Apple victory. “We attain no conclusion on the deserves of the enchantment,” the courtroom mentioned.

The choice is a blow to Apple, which was beforehand pressured to take away the most recent Apple Watches from its U.S. shops for a number of days in December. Apple could also be pressured to take away a blood oxygen sensor function on its newest units in an effort to maintain the smartwatches on the U.S. market.

The ban stems from an mental property dispute with Masimo, a medical machine firm. In October, the Worldwide Commerce Fee discovered that Apple’s blood oxygen sensors had infringed on Masimo’s mental property.

Earlier this week, courtroom filings urged that Apple had acquired approval from U.S. customs for a modified model of its Apple Watches that lack the blood oxygen function and subsequently not infringe on Masimo’s mental property. It may open a path for a modified Apple Watch to return to U.S. retailer cabinets. An Apple consultant earlier this week declined to touch upon the Customs choice.

Masimo had alleged that Apple had poached a number of of its prime executives and copied its know-how after declining a partnership.

If Apple should proceed to maintain its newest smartwatches from U.S. shops, it may complicate repairs at Apple shops, which frequently swap damaged units with replacements.

Apple didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the denial.

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