The US International Trade Commission said Friday that it will open a proceeding to assess a ban on imports of updated Apple (AAPL) Watches as part of the company's patent dispute with Masimo (MASI).

The regulator said Masimo has requested the proceeding to evaluate if the redesigned version of the watches still infringes its patents on blood-oxygen measurement technology. The US ITC expects to complete the proceeding in six months, according to the statement.

Apple and Masimo did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' requests for comments.