According to an ITC import ban, older models of Samsung smartphones will be banned as of 12:00 AM EST on October 8 unless the Obama administration vetoes the action as it did for Apple. The ban, which stems from August’s International Trade Commission determination that Samsung infringed two Apple patents isn’t expected to be vetoed by the executive branch according to Bloomberg. For those of you who didn’t know, a similar ITC ban on some of Apple’s iPad 2 and iPhone 4 devices was overturned in August.
The government has gone to great lengths to stress that the decision on whether to veto the ban will be made on the merits of the case rather than geopolitical interests. US Trade Representative Michael Froman said he made it clear to representatives from both Samsung and the government of South Korea that the outcome would have “nothing, zero, to do with the nationality of the parties involved.” In an August 28 letter to Froman, Samsung called the patents’ effect on the company’s handsets “trivial,” according to Law360, and said the ban was “neither fair nor equitable” since the patents in question “cover small, insignificant features of the complex electronic devices.” The South Korean electronics manufacturer ended up writing the following in their defense:
The world is watching how Samsung is treated by the United States in this 'smartphone war' and the administration has a significant interest in avoiding the perception of favoritism and protectionism toward U.S. companies.
Source: Bloomberg, Law360
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