itc

Apple and Samsung both have to wait a couple more months for the U.S. International Trade Commission to decide whether iPhone and iPad sales should be banned due to patent violations.

One of countless legal disputes between the two companies, this particular case kicked off in August 2011.

Samsung had filed a complaint with the ITC accusing Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch of violating four of its key patents. As such, the Korean phone maker requested that the products be banned from being sold in the United States.

Last September, a judge for the ITC issued a … Read more

Apple is attempting to revive a patent-infringement claim against Google's Motorola Mobility unit over touch-screen technology, according to Reuters.

Apple asked a U.S. appeals court to reinstate the claim after the U.S. International Trade Commission had earlier ruled that one of the related patents was invalid and Motorola hadn't infringed on the second patent.

Apple contends that Motorola is copying its technology that allows for transparent screens to sense multiple touches in different locations, allowing users to operate a phone by swiping or tapping the screen. The technology is fundamental to the current generation of smartphones … Read more

The U.S. International Trade Commission will review an administrative law judge's decision invalidating certain Motorola Mobility patents, which cleared Apple of infringement claims.

The ITC, a federal agency with the power to enforce bans on products shipping to the U.S., posted a notice (PDF) to its Web site today indicating it will take a second look at a decision issued in December by Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender. Pender dismissed the claims after invalidating a Motorola patent covering proximity sensor technology.

The patent in question covers technology that automatically dims a handset's display when the phone … Read more

The International Trade Commission's final ruling on a spat between Apple and Samsung is due this August, following a review of an earlier decision.

The judge presiding over the patent case (which was filed by Apple against Samsung in July 2011) last night said he plans to issue a final decision on the case on August 1, following an updated initial determination that's subject to a review.

Last October, the ITC said that Samsung infringed on four of Apple's patents with a handful of its mobile devices. Late last month the U.S.-based group said that decision would be reviewed … Read more

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) decided yesterday to review a ruling made by an administrative law judge in the ongoing patent-infringement saga between Apple and Samsung.

Judge Thomas Pender in October ruled that Samsung had violated one of Apple's iPhone design patents, as well as three software feature patents, in some of its mobile products. Two other patents brought before the judge by Apple were found to have not been violated by Samsung.

In a memo published yesterday (PDF), the ITC announced that it will review the ruling passed down by Judge Pender. The organization said that … Read more

Google's Motorola Mobility filed a motion today with the U.S. International Trade Commission to drop two patents from its patent infringement complaint against Microsoft.

The motion (see below) puts to rest part of the ITC patent battle between the two companies, which began in November 2010 when Motorola sued Microsoft over wireless and video coding patents used in Xbox and its smartphones. Microsoft countered that Motorola was unfairly seeking excessive royalty payments for the H.264 video patents, which are an industry essential standard and as such must be offered on FRAND (fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory) basis.

An … Read more

InterDigital is on the patent warpath again.

The company, famous for holding a boatload of patents on wireless products, filed a complaint yesterday with the United States International Trade Commission against the usual round of tech players.

Citing infringement against seven of its patents, InterDigital wants the ITC to ban the U.S. import of products made by Samsung, Nokia, ZTE, and Huawei.

Specifically, InterDigital alleges that the companies in question have engaged in unfair trade practices by selling certain 3G and 4G wireless devices that violate the seven patents. Without naming any specific products, the complaint points to mobile … Read more

Apple's iPhone does not infringe on a sensor patent held by Motorola Mobility, a judge at the U.S. International Trade Commission said today.

In an initial determination, ITC Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender said Apple's iPhone did not infringe on a patent covering proximity sensor technology, because the main claim in that patent is invalid.

The ruling is preliminary and needs to be approved by the ITC's full six-member commission.

"We're disappointed with this outcome and are evaluating our options," a Motorola representative told Bloomberg, which reported the news Tuesday afternoon.

The spat … Read more

Samsung's getting a second chance against Apple in at least one legal venue.

The U.S. International Trade Commission today said it will review a decision made by one of its administrative law judges, who in September sided with Apple in a patent infringement complaint filed against it by the South Korean technology giant last year.

In a filing (PDF) this afternoon (via Bloomberg), the ITC said it plans to review that September ruling "in its entirety."

To be sure, the change is not a reversal but procedural in nature. Following any initial determination, rulings need to … Read more