Little Impact Seen on Wireless Carriers From Patent-Related Import Bans

摘要

The White House has until early October to decide whether to veto a U.S. International TradenCommission exclusion order that would ban the import of certain Samsung mobile devices because theynviolated two Apple patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 7,479,949 and 7,912,501 (CD Aug 15 p10). The exclusionnorder against Samsung is the latest episode in a years-long series of legal battles at the ITC and federalncourts between the top smartphone manufacturers as each seeks to gain market share. Patent attorneys andnindustry experts told us court-ordered sales bans typically have only a limited effect on the wireless carriersnthat have deals with the manufacturers to provide mobile devices to their subscribers.