“Samsung Electronics Co. must stop importing some models of smartphones and tablet computers into the U.S. after President Barack Obama’s administration upheld a ban won by Apple Inc. in a patent-infringement dispute,” Susan Decker and Brian Wingfield report for Bloomberg. “‘After carefully weighing policy considerations, including the impact on consumers and competition, advice from agencies, and information from interested parties, I have decided to allow’ the import ban to proceed, Obama’s designee, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, said in a statement today.”
“The Korean company argued the ban ordered by the U.S. International Trade Commission should be overturned on public policy grounds, especially since a similar order it won against Apple’s iPhone 4S was thwarted by a presidential veto in August. Samsung can now seek a delay in the ban from a U.S. appeals court that will consider the entire case on legal grounds,” Decker and Wingfield report. “The import ban is on a limited number of products. The ITC said newer models by Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung had worked around two Apple patents, which covered a multitouch feature and one for a sensor for headphone jacks.”
Decker and Wingfield report, “Forcing Samsung to change its design is a victory for Apple. The iPhone maker says it keeps and entices new customers by contrasting the look and ease of its devices to other manufacturers, like Samsung or HTC Corp. (2498) In appeals-court arguments, Apple accused Samsung of simply putting a new name on some handsets without making any changes. In contrast, Samsung’s victory against Apple involved a basic function of the phone, the ability to transmit data that was part of a standard used across platforms. The administration cited its position that advocates limiting the ability to use standard-essential patents to block competition in overturning the import ban.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Froman made the proper decision.
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