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US orders import ban on Samsung mobile devices
Last Updated:2013-08-10 10:34 | Xinhua
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The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Friday ordered a ban on the import and sale of some Samsung mobile devices after finding they infringed on two Apple's patents for multitouch features and headphone jack detection.

The decision dealt a blow to Samsung, whose devices run on Google's Android operating system, as the two competitors launched a global patent war since 2010.

But the trade panel, an independent and bipartisan body of U.S. federal government, said Samsung can continue to import and sell its infringing devices during a 60-day review period in which the Obama administration can veto the order.

The two global leading smart-phone companies are embroiled in patent fights worldwide for the rapidly increasing market worth hundreds of billion U.S. dollars. And the production of a highly technology-intensive device like a smart-phone involves hundreds of patents.

In a separate case brought to the ITC by Samsung, the committee ruled in June that Apple infringed some patents owned by Samsung.

Following this ruling, the ITC also issued an exclusion order that prohibited unlicensed importing of infringing devices. The ITC also issued a cease and desist order to prevent sales of the products in the United States.

But the Obama administration on Aug. 3 vetoed the ban, a rare move that has not been seen since 1987. Samsung could not appeal against the veto, but it could continue to pursue its patent rights through the courts, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.

"Unlike every other country in the world, the United States allows patent holders to seek relief from allegedly infringing competitors in both a court of law and an administrative agency," said William Watson, a trade policy analyst with the U.S. think tank Cato Insitute.

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