White House vetos Trade Commission decision to ban iPhone 4 and iPad 2 imports
Monday 5 August 2013 @ 12.01 p.m. | Trade & Commerce
As reported by BRW, the White House has intervened on behalf of American technology giant Apple, overturning a US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling in favour of South Korean company Samsung.
In what is believed to be the first time since 1987 that the White House has vetoed an ITC ruling, on Saturday the Obama administration overturned a forthcoming ban on imports of selected older models of Apple’s iPhones and iPads, including the iPhone 4 and 3GS.The ITC ordered the ban in June after finding that the products infringed Samsung patents. Apple claimed that Samsung refused to license it the right to use the patented technology whilst Samsung claimed that Apple refused to pay the licence fee.
US trade representative Michael Froman reportedly made the decision without mention
of President Barack Obama or his senior aides. He referred to consequences a ban might
have on “competitive conditions in the US economy and the effect on US consumers”,
but added that Samsung may be have recourse to other remedies to be pursued through
the courts.
Although there are creently a number of patent disputes between the two companies before the courts, trade lawyers say that this decision in particular takes away a significant bargaining chip for Samsung in its other cases against Apple. In light of this, commentators suggest there is a risk that this White House veto could be perceived as a political decision overturning a judicial one. Irrespective of whether the reasons for the decision are valid, the fact that a rare veto was applied in favour of a key US corporation, rather than a foreign competitor will be scrutinised. Apple, whose market share is giving way to smartphone market leader Samsung, spent $US 2 million on US government lobbying in 2012. Samsung spent $US900 000.
Read the full article here.
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