In yet another blow to Samsung in its ongoing patent war with Apple, the Korean manufacturer has failed to obtain a veto from US President Barack Obama for a ban imposed on a few of its devices by the ITC, which Apple won a few days after it managed to get the US administration to veto a sales ban it was facing for some of its iDevices. The Samsung devices were to be locked down yesterday, and the ruling was put into effect after considering the “impact on consumers and competition.”
The Korean company had argued that the ban should be overturned on public policy grounds, especially since a similar order it won against Apple was vetoed by the administration in August. Samsung can now seek a delay in the ban from a U.S. appeals court that will consider the entire case on legal grounds.
“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, Obama’s designee, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, said in a statement today.
While disappointing, the ITC ruling doesn't affect Samsung's business in any way as the ban was against devices that have been out of production for more than a year, but it's certainly a scenario that will once again work up talk of favoritism towards Apple by the U.S. government. Samsung will be able to work around the patents it was found to infringe quite easily, but for Apple, it's a victory it will cherish until the next time the two companies head to court.
