The ITC's Office of Unfair Import Investigation has gone over the preliminary ruling from Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender that ruled in favor of Apple and against Samsung. The OUII found that Judge Pender "did not commit legal or factual error" in his ruling that Samsung had infringed on four Apple patents. Both sides had petitioned the court for a review as Apple sought wider sanctions on Samsung and the latter was trying to prevent a ban on some of its devices.
The Samsung Tranform was cited by the OUII for infringing on Apple's '501 patent
The OUII makes recommendations that don't have to be followed by the ITC or the Judge. Besides finding that ALJ Pender made no reversible errors, it also found that Sammy's SPH-M920 did "infringe claim 3 of the ‘501 patent." The '501 patent is owned by Apple and covers the headphone jack and accompanying circuitry, on a device. Claim 3 covers the technology that determines if the device has its microphone activated. The product in question is known in the U.S. as the Samsung Transform.
If the ITC follows through on the recommendation, Samsung could see a sales ban on the devices involved in the original claim, unless it has been able to devise a workaround for them. Since the OUII is only making a recommendation, Samsung is down to its last strike. Apple is asking for a reversal on some of Samsung's devices found not to have infringed on an Apple iPhone 3GS design patent and a utility patent involving plug-in detection technology.
Samsung is seeking a reversal based on procedural errors in submitting evidence, and decisions made by Judge Pender relating to infringement and validity. Obviously, the Korean based manufacturer is in more hot water than Apple when it comes to the final ITC decision. The ITC is also scheduled to review another previous decision that cleared Apple from infringing on Samsung's wireless patents. A final decision will be handed down next year.
Visit the sourcelink to read the entire recommendation handed down by the OUII.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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