We are all aware of the enormous legal battle that has been taking place between Apple and Samsung. It has been carrying on for quite some time now and while there was a hint of a possible resolution last month, the latest news indicates that this is highly unlikely. This latest upset is still in the wake of the infamous billion dollar fee that was handed down to Samsung last year.
The International Trade Commission has just issued a limited exclusion order for several Samsung devices. What this means is that Samsung will not be able to import any of the devices that are found to be infringing on Apple’s patents. Ironically enough, Samsung isn’t actually infringing on any of Apple’s design patents, which were the allegations that started this whole mess.
Samsung has been found to be infringing on patents 7,479,949 and 7,912,501. These are patents that are related to Apple’s touchscreen technology and the specific architecture of their headphone jacks. What may possibly be good news for Samsung, the ban will not go into effect for 60 days, while a proper presidential review takes place.
Also good news, Samsung’s banned devices will still be able to be sold while the review takes place. As it stands, the control currently lies with President Obama, which may be good or bad. As a matter of fact, President Obama vetoed a ban on Apple products only last week that was a result of similar lawsuits. This likely indicates that Obama does not have any interest in stifling competition.
There has been no official list of banned devices, but the devices that were in question were the Samsung Galaxy S2 and other older devices. This means the ban will likely have no effect on future purchases or even on Samsung’s shipments. This of course begs the question as to why Apple was even going after devices that have become so outdated. We will keep you updated as new information arises, but for now, we’ll leave you with Samsung statement in response to the ban:
We are disappointed that the ITC has issued an exclusion order based on two of Apple’s patents. However, Apple has been prevented from trying to use its overbroad design patents to achieve a monopoly on rectangles and rounded corners. The proper focus for the smartphone industry is not a global war in the courts, but fair competition in the marketplace. Samsung will continue to launch many innovative products and we have already taken measures to ensure that our products will continue to be available in the United States.