US ITC Exploring Implications of Import Ban on Apple’s Devices
Bloomberg is reporting that the U.S. International Trade Commission has postponed its final decision is a Samsung vs Apple case to May 31. The Agency wants to know how much consumers and the U.S. economy would be hurt should Apple Inc. iPhone and iPad be banned from the US.
The ruling is in relation to one of the four patents that Samsung asserted against Apple, which include a way for phones to transmit data.
According to the report, Rodney Sweetland, a lawyer with Duane Morris in Washington who specializes in ITC cases stated that “the notice could indicate the commission is considering a finding Apple violated the Samsung patent. The agency could be trying to fashion a compromise that would give Apple time to work around or license the patent, or to deny an import ban because of the impact on consumers and the competitive market.”
“Were they not thinking about a violation, they would not need to ask for further information of this nature,” Sweetland said in a telephone interview.
An administrative law judge at the ITC ruled last September that Apple did not infringe Samsung’s patents. However, the full ITC panel said it would review the matter. If Apple guilty of infringement, the ITC could order its products banned from the U.S. market.
