From The IPKat: Apple Sales Preserved: White House Vetoes ITC’s Ban
The United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) Michael
Froman, on behalf of the White House, has intervened in the patent dispute
between Samsung and Apple. Back in June,
the United States International Trade Commission (“ITC”) determined that some
of Apple’s older generation of products, including iPad 2 and iPhone 4 models
that operate on the networks of AT&T and T-Mobile, were in violation of
Samsung patents that cover methods of transmitting data. As a result, the ITC issued an exclusion
order that would have banned the importation and sale of the infringing
products.Taking into consideration that the Samsung patents are
“standards-essential patents”, which the patent owner must offer under license
to competitors on “terms that are fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory
(‘FRAND’)”, the USTR vetoed the ITC ban, explaining:“After extensive consultations with
the agencies of the Trade Policy Staff Committee and the Trade Policy Review
Group, as well as other interested agencies and persons, I have decided to
disapprove the [ITC’s] determination to issue an exclusion order and cease and
desist order in this investigation. This
decision is based on my review of the various policy considerations … as they
relate to the effect on competitive conditions in the U.S. economy and the
effect on U.S. customers.”…