Obama administration overturns ban on some iPads, iPhones
罢丑别听Obama administration聽has overturned a US trade panel's ban on the sale of some older iPhones 补苍诲听iPads, reversing a ruling that had favored Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. over Apple Inc. in their long-running patent battles.
罢丑别听US International Trade Commission聽(ITC) in June banned the import or sale of the聽iPhone聽4,聽iPhone聽3GS, iPad聽3G, 补苍诲听iPad聽2 3G distributed by AT&T Inc, saying the devices infringed a patent owned by the South Korean electronics giant.
US Trade representative聽Michael Froman聽on Saturday vetoed the ban, saying his decision was in part based on its "effect on competitive conditions in the US economy and the effect on US consumers." He said Samsung could continue to pursue its case through the courts.
Samsung said it was "disappointed" at the lifting of the ban. "罢丑别听ITC's decision correctly recognized that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith and that Apple remains unwilling to take a license," it said in a statement.
Apple welcomed the news and applauded the administration "for standing up for innovation." It added, "Samsung was wrong to abuse the patent system in this way."
The Apple products targeted by the聽ITC聽ban are more than a year old, though some models such as the iPhone聽4 remain solid sellers. Apple sells more than 100 million iPhones annually, but it does not break down sales by models.
Apple and Samsung have been waging a global patent war since 2010, filing multiple lawsuits against each other over the design and functionality of their devices.
This聽ITC聽ban is specific to a Samsung patent on technology that allows devices to transmit multiple services simultaneously and correctly through 3G聽wireless technology.
Such patents are called "standard essential patents" and they cover technology that must be used to comply with standards set by industry organizations.
罢丑别听Obama administration聽has been pressing for most infringements of standard essential patents to be punished by monetary fines instead of sales injunctions.
Froman on Saturday said the聽ITC聽should thoroughly examine the public interest ramifications of its rulings in disputes over standard essential patents.
Designed to be a trade panel, the聽ITC聽has become a popular venue for patent lawsuits because it acts relatively quickly and can order import bans, which are more difficult to get from district courts.
While the聽ITC聽was created to ensure that US companies can compete fairly against imports, a number of foreign companies with US manufacturing plants have filed patent complaints with the agency. Samsung has a plant in聽Austin,聽Texas.
ITC聽cases can be appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and from there to the聽Supreme Court.
Apple has a parallel complaint filed against Samsung at the聽ITC, accusing the South Korean company of copying the聽iPhone聽补苍诲听iPad. An聽ITC聽judge in that case found that Samsung had violated four out of six patents listed in the complaint. A final decision is due in August.
Samsung makes phones that run on聽Google聽Inc.'s聽Android聽operating software, the market leader. Apple has also sued other聽Android聽phone makers including聽HTC Corp. for patent infringement.
The case at the聽International Trade Commission聽was No. 337-794.
