Apple Wins ITC Ruling for U.S. Import Ban Against Older Samsung Devices

According to Foss Patents, Apple has won an import ban against Samsung, as the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled the latter infringed on two of the former’s patents:

  • U.S. Patent No. 7,479,949 on a “touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics” (which Apple wanted to call “the Jobs patent” in a trial in Judge Posner’s court that never took place); this patent is under reexamination pressure; Apple also made headway with other multi-touch patents earlier this week when it won a remand to the ITC of its case against Google’s Motorola Mobility
  • U.S. Patent No. 7,912,501 on an “audio I/O headset plug and plug detection circuitry”

According to AllThingsD, Apple praised the ITC ruling:

“With today’s decision, the ITC has joined courts around the world in Japan, Korea, Germany, Netherlands and California by standing up for innovation and rejecting Samsung’s blatant copying of Apple’s products,” Apple said. “Protecting real innovation is what the patent system should be about.”

Samsung spokesman Adam Yates said the company was disappointed but pleased with the following:

“Apple has been stopped 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,”

Florian Mueller from Foss Patents summarizes today’s ruling:

Still, today’s ITC ruling is significant because it gives Apple additional leverage in the near term. All in all, today has been a good day for Apple, and the likelihood of Samsung accepting to settle on Apple’s terms has definitely increased, though the dispute could also continue for another year or more (nobody knows).

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.