President Obama’s trade representative on Saturday vetoed a ban on imports of some Apple iPads and older iPhones, dealing a setback to rival South Korean electronics company Samsung.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman overruled a June decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which had banned imports of the iPhone 4 and some variations of the iPad 2.
The commission ruled that the Chinese-made Apple devices violated a patent held by Samsung and couldn’t be imported. The ban never went into effect, though, because the Obama administration had 60 days to decide if it would uphold the commission.
Obama is against import bans on the basis of the type of patent at issue in the Samsung case. The White House has recommended that Congress limit the ITC’s ability to impose import bans in these cases.
Samsung and Apple are in a global legal battle over smartphones. Apple argues Samsung’s Android phones copy vital iPhone features. Samsung is fighting back with its own complaints.
In an email, Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said the company applauded the administration “for standing up for innovation.”
Guest
- Heidi Moore, U.S. finance and economics editor for The Guardian. She tweets @moorehn.
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