Toshiba said it resumed blocking access by Western Digital to data at their memory chip joint venture, amid a feud over the Japanese company's planned auction of the chip business.

The California Court of Appeal in San Francisco has ruled that Toshiba may resume efforts to protect its intellectual property and deny Western Digital workers access to certain data and facilities effective immediately.

The court on July 18 issued a stay on a temporary restraining order granted last week that required Toshiba to provide such access.

Toshiba is counting on the sale of the chip business to cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse, while Western Digital says any deal would require its consent.