Some older Samsung Electronics Co smartphones and tablets could be taken off store shelves in the US after the Office of the US Trade Representative opted not to reverse a ban ordered because the devices infringe Apple Inc patents.
The decision is the latest step in a patent battle across several countries as Apple and Samsung vie for market share in the lucrative mobile industry. Samsung and Apple are the No. 1 and No. 2 smartphone makers globally respectively.
Neither the US International Trade Commission (ITC), which made the patent ruling, nor the US Customs and Border Protection, which would enforce the ban, has spelled out which of Samsung’s many devices will be affected.
Photo: AFP
Despite the ban, AT&T expected to continue selling Samsung products.
“This decision will not affect our ability to provide the latest Samsung devices,” AT&T spokesman Marty Richter said.
The ITC said on Aug. 9 that some smartphone and tablet models made by South Korea’s Samsung infringed on Apple patents, and banned their importation or sale.
US Trade Representative Michael Froman had 60 days to overturn the ban, as he did in a recent case where Apple was found to have infringed on a Samsung patent, but decided not to.
“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 commission’s determination,” Froman said in a statement.
“We are disappointed by the US Trade Representative’s decision to allow the exclusion order issued by the US International Trade Commission. It will serve only to reduce competition and limit choice for the American consumer,” a Samsung spokesperson said.
Apple filed a complaint in mid-2011, accusing Samsung of infringing its patents in making a wide range of smartphones and tablets.
The ITC ruled that the Samsung devices infringed on portions of two Apple patents on digital mobile devices, related to the detection of headphone jacks and the operation of touchscreens.
Samsung has said its newer models incorporate features that work around disputed technology, and that those changes have been approved by the ITC.
In August, the office overturned a proposed ban on some older-model Apple iPhones and iPads that had been found to infringe Samsung patents. Patents involved were standard essential patents, while the patents covered by Tuesday’s decision were not. Standard essential patents are central to the products at issue and are supposed to be licensed broadly and inexpensively. US antitrust authorities have argued that infringing on them should trigger requirements for license payments, but not import or sales bans.
Separately, Apple is planning to reveal iPad updates at an invitation-only event later this month, the technology news Web site AllThingsD reported on Tuesday.
The next-generation iPad is expected to be thinner than its predecessor and boast improved camera capabilities. An upgraded version of the iPad mini is likely to list an improved screen among its features.
The event will be held on Oct. 22, according to AllThingsD. Apple declined to comment on the report, which cited unnamed sources.
Apple is coming off a wildly successful launch of two new iPhone models last month. The California firm said it sold a record 9 million iPhones in the three days after launching two new versions of the smartphone.
Additional reporting by AFP
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
Apple Inc has been developing a homegrown chip to run artificial intelligence (AI) tools in data centers, although it is unclear if the semiconductor would ever be deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The effort would build on Apple’s previous efforts to make in-house chips, which run in its iPhones, Macs and other devices, according to the Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The server project is code-named ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center) within the company, aiming to utilize Apple’s expertise in chip design for the company’s server infrastructure, the newspaper said. While this initiative has been
Clambering hand-over-hand, sweat dripping into his eyes, a durian laborer expertly slices a cumbersome fruit from a tree before tossing it down to land with a soft thump in his colleague’s waiting arms about 15m below. Among Thailand’s most famous and lucrative exports, the pungent “king of fruits” is as distinctive in its smell as its spiky green-brown carapace, and has been farmed in the kingdom for hundreds of years. However, a vicious heat wave engulfing Southeast Asia has resulted in smaller yields and spiraling costs, with growers and sellers increasingly panicked as global warming damages the industry. “This year is a crisis,”
HIGH-TECH: As leading-edge process technologies become more complicated, only a handful of players are able to provide design services, the company’s CEO said Artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) yesterday said that revenue would grow significantly again in 2026 after adding a major AI chip customer, reversing moderation amid a product transition next year. The Taipei-based application-specific IC (ASIC) designer reiterated its strong revenue growth forecast for this year and 2026 after its stock plummeted about 23 percent to NT$3,145 from a peak of NT$4,085 on March 6 amid growing competition. Alchip said it has built strong partnerships with cloud service providers (CSP), denying that it had lost orders to smaller competitors such as Faraday Technology Corp (智原). Faraday said it has secured