Today, the tech giant appealed a US trade ban on the imports of the company's new smart watches over a patent dispute.

CBS's Elise Preston reports on what the ban means for health conscious consumers.

If you didn't get the newest Apple Watch for Christmas, you might have missed your chance --at least for now.

A dispute over patented technology is bringing sales of the smart watches to a halt in the US.

The Apple Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches can read oxygen levels in the blood, a feature that medical device company Massimo says infringes on its patents.

Apple and Massimo, they've each accused each other of various patent infringements and this is very common.

It's just rare that at this point, they're actually pulling a product off store shelves, which does not happen very often.

Apple Watches can measure a number of other health indicators.

I can still do other things with the watch and it's definitely not the reason I purchased it.

The ban comes at a time when the popularity of these devices is booming.

In North America alone, the market for wearable medical devices has grown to nearly $14 billion, and that's expected to more than double in five years.

Apple is the largest seller of smart watches in the world.

In a statement, the company says it strongly disagrees with the decision and is taking all measures to return the watches to customers in the US as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Massimo calls the move a win for the integrity of the US patent system and consumers.

Do you foresee Apple just writing a check?

You know, Apple has the ability to certainly write a check to settle almost any dispute.

It's not their biggest business, but it's a nice business.

It's a significant business and it ties into so many of their other products.

Now, one way Apple could get out of this mess is to roll out new technology.

The impact extends far beyond the latest models.

If you bought an Apple Watch in the last few years and it breaks, you may not be able to get it repaired until this dispute is resolved.

Jerica. -Elise Preston.

Thank you very much.