The International Trade Commission on August 9, 2013, announced that certain Samsung smartphone products violate Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, 19 U.S.C. 1337, by infringing Apple patents on headset plug circuitry and touch screen commands.
The ITC issued an order to exclude the relevant Samsung products as well as a cease and desist order on the further importation, sale, and distribution of those products.
The effective date of the order is stayed for 60 days pending Presidential review under 19 U.S.C. 1337(j).
The infringed patents are No. 7,479,949 (“Audio I/O headset plug and plug detection circuitry”) and 7,912,501 (“Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics”).
However, the order also found no infringement of a design patent (D618678) covering a shape that appears like the Apple iPhone, a design patent (D558757) covering a shape like the Apple iPod Touch and Apple iPad, and a reissue patent (RE41922) entitled “Method and apparatus for providing translucent images on a computer display.” The Commission revised the Administrative Law Judge’s claim construction for a patent (7,789,697) entitled “Plug detection mechanisms” and found it infringed by a Samsung product, but also found that patent invalid as anticipated.
To read the ITC order in this case, click here
AIPLA, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, announced the above in a news release on August 10, 2013.