Apple wins patent case against Samsung at US ITC

Giant tech Apple has won a key patent case against rival Samsung at the US International Trade Commission (US ITC).

The US ITC upheld a 2011 decision which found that Samsung had infringed Apple patents in the production of mobile phones, media players and tablets.

The commission has ordered that Samsung devices affected by the ruling are banned from the US.

But that ban is on hold while President Barack Obama reviews the decision.

The President has 60 days to assess the US ITC’s findings, although analysts say he is unlikely to overturn the commission’s decision.

“We are disappointed that the ITC has issued an exclusion order based on two of Apple’s patents,” Samsung said in a statement.

“The proper focus for the smartphone industry is not a global war in the courts, but fair competition in the marketplace.”

Apple hailed the decision, placing it in the context of the tech giants’ global patent battles.

“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,” said the company.

The ruling applies to two patents.

The first is the so-called “Steve Jobs patent”, named after the company’s founder, which involves touch-screen technology.

The other patent is related to the audio socket on devices.

Four other patent infringements asserted by Apple were turned down by the US ITC.

Apple and Samsung have been fighting patent battles for years and across 10 countries.

The fight has escalated after Samsung overtook Apple last year to become the global leader in smartphone sales.

In Washington on Friday, a federal appeals judge heard testimony in a separate patent case between the two companies relating to a decision last year, in which Samsung was found to owe Apple $1 billion for infringing on patents.

That penalty was later struck to $450 million, but Apple appealed against the ruling. A verdict in that case has not yet been issued.

Separately, last weekend Barack Obama issued the first presidential veto in 26 years relating to a US ITC decision.

That veto overturned a ban on older models of Apple’s iPhones and iPads because of its “effect on competitive conditions in the US economy”.

Friday’s ruling is widely seen as a victory for the company.

“In a way. the noose is tightening. Apple step by step actually is gaining leverage against Samsung,” says Florian Mueller.