A temporary workaround to the ban on Apple Watch sales has been rejected by the U.S. International Trade Commission. Apple is forced to stop selling the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, leaving it with limited options.

The summary of the new ITC filing states: "The U.S. International Trade Commission ("Commission") has decided to deny Respondent's motion pending an improvement order in light of the pending appeal and/or potential government shutdown.

Simply put, the ITC rejected Apple's proposal (filed on October 30 of this year) to put the sales ban on hold until the appeal is ready or if the federal government is shut down due to a dispute over funding in Congress that would affect the ITC's activities.

Thus, we should see Apple's promised timetable for ending sales of the disputed Apple Watches being put into action. Sales of the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 at the online Apple Store will end today (December 21). In-store sales will also end on December 24.

There is still time for the U.S. government to order the ban not to take effect, but with only four days remaining as of this writing, that seems unlikely. If the ban is enforced, it is unclear how long it will be before the two Apple watches are fully available again.

The ban on the sale of the Apple Watch is the result of an order from the ITC based on findings that Apple may have infringed on a blood oxygen (SpO2) measurement patent owned by Masimo over the past several years. Until a settlement is reached, Apple may not sell watches containing the technology in question.

Apple is reportedly trying to push through a software update that would disable SpO2 monitoring in its latest smartwatch, but it is unclear whether this will be enough to satisfy Masimo and the court.

Third-party sales appear to be able to continue for now, but sooner or later they will run out of stock. Apple also does not allow employees to refer customers, perhaps to avoid further legal trouble.