Since being banned by the International Trade Commission (ITC) in June, President Barack Obama has stepped in to give Apple a legal victory over Samsung, for now, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In early June, the ITC banned Apple's iPhone 4 and iPad 2 3G in two markets, Texas and Alaska on AT&T wireless for violating one of Samsung's patents. That ban was reversed Saturday by the Obama administration in a rare Presidential move reversing an ITC decision.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman made the decision to nix the ban because he was concerned Samsung would gain "undue leverage" had the ban stood. He also believed the ban could potentially be harmful to the U.S. economy by impeding on competitive conditions in the smartphone market.
"We applaud the Administration for standing up for innovation in this landmark case," an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement. "Samsung was wrong to abuse the patent system in this way."
The ban sparked a hot debate over the issue and both supporters and critics lobbied for the Obama administration to rule in their opposing favors.
Critics questioned whether companies should be able to enforce patents essential to creating a product with key technologies that block rivals in cases involving such industry-standards. In other words, that Samsung tried to block Apple from using "standard essential" technology by placing a license on it.
Samsung argued it had offered to the license the patents to Apple, but the Cupertino, Calif. company declined and sought to avoid paying those licenses.
Samsung and other U.S. tech companies said their standard-setting patents were protecting their intellectual property. They argues that the veto would ruin past decisions, lessen the value of a patent and discourage innovation.
"The ITC's decision correctly recognized that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith and that Apple remains unwilling to take a license," a Samsung spokesman said, including his company was upset with the veto.
Samsung can continue to fight for their patent through the courts if they wish.
The ITC will now shift its focus to a ruling that will decide if Samsung infringed upon Apple's patents. The decision, expected Friday, could impose an import ban on Samsung, but the decision will likely be delayed due to the Obama administration's move on Saturday.
