Apple Inc. and its lawyers at Morrison & Foerster scored a major victory in the smartphone wars on Friday when the International Trade Commission ordered Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd to stop selling mobile devices that infringe Apple patents.
In an order posted on the ITC web site, a panel of ITC commissioners ruled that some of Samsung's devices infringe two Apple patents, partially reversing a preliminary ruling by a single ITC administrative law judge. Crucially, the agency ruled that 60 days from now Samsung should be prohibited from importing its infringing devices into the U.S.
It is unclear how many Samsung phones and tablets will be affected by the ban. The ITC will release a longer decision in the coming weeks explaining its reasoning.
Apple sued Samsung at the ITC in July 2011. In its complaint, Apple initially accused Samsung of infringing seven patents, including one related to touch-screen technology that's become known as the "Steve Jobs patent" because he was the first named inventor.
A bench trial was held before ITC judge Thomas Pender in mid-2012. MoFo squared off against Samsung's lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. A few months later, Pender returned a verdict that Samsung infringed the Jobs patent and three others.
The full panel of ITC commissioners has now affirmed Pender on two patents and reversed him on two others. Samsung was found to infringe the Jobs patent and an Apple patent relating to headset plugs. The ITC rejected Samsung's argument that an import ban would not be in the public interest because it would harm consumers and stifle competition.
The import ban must be reviewed by officials in the Obama administration before it can go into effect. The President has the power to veto ITC import bans. Such executive branch vetoes are extremely unusual. But just last week the Obama administration vetoed an import ban the ITC awarded Samsung in a separate case it brought against Apple. In that case, Apple was found to infringe a single Samsung patent. The Obama administration's decision was based on the fact that Samsung's patent is essential to industry-wide standards. That's not the case with the two Apple patents at issue in Friday's decision.
As Foss Patents blogger Florian Mueller explains here, the economic impact of Friday's injunction on Samsung will depend entirely on how effectively the company is able to design around Apple's patents.
