Apple catches a big break and can keep selling the latest Apple Watches — for now

• A US appeals court granted Apple's emergency request to pause a US sales ban on some of its watches.
• The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 were pulled from the company's online and physical stores.

Apple just scored a big break.

It can continue to import and sell its latest Apple Watch models in the US — for now.

On Wednesday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted Apple's emergency request to temporarily pause an import ban on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models in the US from going into effect, Reuters reported.

The import ban, which led Apple to pull the affected watch models from its online and physical stores in recent days, stemmed from a patent dispute between the company and the medical-device maker Masimo.

The US International Trade Commission ruled that Apple had violated multiple Masimo patents related to blood-oxygen monitoring.

Apple has appealed the ruling, which President Joe Biden declined to veto, arguing that the import ban will cause "irreparable harm" to its business.

While the company was still allowed to sell its budget Apple Watch SE under the International Trade Commission order, one analyst estimated the import ban could cost Apple $300 million to $400 million in lost sales.

Apple has earned itself some more time as the appeals court weighs whether to grant Apple a longer-term pause on the ruling. The International Trade Commission now has until January 10 to submit its opposition to Apple's motion to pause the import ban during the appeal, according to court documents.

But for now, it looks like Apple CEO Tim Cook just found one more present under the Christmas tree — and it was a big one.