US Govt. overturns Apple iPhone and iPad patent ban in US

A ban on sales of older models of Apple’s iPad and iPhone in the US has been overturned by the Obama administration.

President Barack Obama’s trade representative then vetoed the decision because of its “effect on competitive conditions in the US economy”.
In June, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Apple infringed a patent of rival Samsung.
In June, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Apple infringed a patent of rival Samsung.
President Barack Obama’s trade representative then vetoed the decisionbecause of its “effect on competitive conditions in the US economy”. Such a veto is a relatively rare event.
It was the first time since 1987 that a presidential administration had vetoed an ITC import ban. The ban was set to take effect on 5 August.
The South Korean media denounced the US move as being “protectionism”.
And the South Korean trade ministry said in a statement: “We express concerns about the negative impact that such a decision would have on the protection of patent rights.”
It also called on the ITC and the Obama administration to make “fair and reasonable decisions”.
Samsung now faces a decision on Friday to decide whether some of its phones and tablets infringed on Apple’s patents and should be banned from imports into the US.
The ban would have banned sales and imports of the AT&T version of the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4, as well as the iPad and iPad 2 3G version, and would have started this week.
Apple and Samsung have been fighting it out through the courts over patents since 2011 in a battle that has developed into a global one. Each side has filed various lawsuits that have concerned everything from the design of devices to the use of technology on them.