Samsung faces a ban that will prevent it from importing a handful of its smartphones after the Obama Administration decided not to veto a ruling issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission.
The ITC ruled in August that Samsung infringed on two design-based patents held by Apple. The patents in question cover detecting headphones and scrolling behavior. Samsung appealed the decision and hoped the President would overturn the ITC’s ruling. “After carefully weighing policy considerations, including the impact on consumers and competition, advice from agencies, and information from interested parties, I have decided to allow” the import ban to proceed, said Michael Froman, Obama’s U.S. Trade Representative. Samsung held that the ban should be overturned because the Obama administration overturned a ban won by Samsung against Apple products earlier this year. In that case, however, the patents pertained to standard essential technology, which must be licensed at reasonable rates.
It’s not immediately clear which Samsung devices are affected by the ban, which goes into effect today.
