The US International Trade Commission banned imports of Apple's iPhone 4 and a variant of the iPad 2, but the ruling will not come in to force for 60 days. Although neither model is now a flagship Apple device, the company recently revealed that such older models make up a substantial oproportion of its current sales.
The ITC ruled the devices violate a patent essential for 3G services that is held by South Korean rival Samsung Electronics; because they are assembled in China, the import ban would end Apple's ability to sell them in the US. Under normal circumstances, such patents must be licensed under "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" terms, but in this case Samsung has taken the matter to court.
President Obama has 60 days to review the ruling, and has already said that he does not think the ITC should have the power to impose import bands in such cases. Apple said it was "disappointed" with the ruling and will appeal.
Samsung and Apple's lengthy fight over patents has fallen from its previous pitch, with Apple losing a number of US cases, but a previous trial in which jurors awarded Apple $1billion in damages is set to go to the appeals court later this year.
The iPhone 4 was launched in 2010 and is the oldest iPhone still sold by Apple. Likely to be retiured later this year anyway, the ITC ruling related only to the iPad 2 and iPhone variants sold by AT&T. Although it also applies to older iPhones, though these are no longer sold by Apple.
Courtesy of the Telegraph
Post a Comment