Apple Wins US Import Ban On Older Samsung Products
ITC says Samsung devices infringe two Apple patents, but says they do not copy Apple’s design
Apple has won a US import ban affecting a number of older Samsung devices after the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled they infringed two Apple patents, including one attributed to the company’s late founder Steve Jobs.
The ITC upheld an earlier decision made by Judge Thomas Pender last year that a number of Samsung products infringed a patent for detecting a headphone jack and another covering a multitouch screen that lists Steve Jobs as one of its inventors, Bloomberg reported .
However the Commission overturned Pender’s ruling that Samsung products copied two of Apple’s design patents, including one relating to a flat front face with wide borders at the top and another one covering translucent images for applications displayed on a phone or computer screen.
Apple Samsung patent war
The ITC said Pender was right to dismiss Apple’s claim that Samsung had infringed a different design patent and a different headphone jack technology.
Both Apple and Samsung have welcomed the ruling, each claiming it has been vindicated. Apple says it proves Samsung is blatantly copying its products, while the Korean manufacturer is pleased it has been absolved of infringing design patents, which would have been harder to work around.
It is unclear just how many Samsung devices would be affected by an import ban, which can only come into effect once it has been reviewed by President Obama’s administration. Newer devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung Galaxy Note do not infringe the asserted patents, while the current flagship Samsung Galaxy S4 was not included in the lawsuit.
Apple is believed to want the Samsung Nexus 4G, Samsung Replenish and Samsung Intercept phones, along with older models of the Samsung Galaxy Tab all banned from entering the US.
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