Samsung Seeks IPhone Ban as Apple Settlement Resisted

Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), told by a federal jury to pay Apple Inc. (AAPL) more than $1 billion for copying the iPhone and iPad, wants another U.S. body to give it leverage to fight back.The Korean company has asked the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington to reverse a finding by one of its judges that Apple's devices don't infringe four Samsung patents. The agency, which can block imports of products found to infringe patents, is scheduled to announce today whether it will review that Sept. 14 decision.Samsung needs a victory to counteract a series of Apple wins in U.S. courts, as the world's two largest smartphone makers fight for increased shares of a $219 billion market.
"For Samsung, it's most important to not lose," said Alex Spektor, an analyst with Strategy Analytics in Boston, Massachusetts. "I don't think they need to cripple their competitors as much as they need to make sure every Wholesale Protective Case product they sell into the U.S. continues selling because those products have proven very popular."The ITC's power to block products from the U.S. market gives the commission's ruling more potential economic impact than even the $1 billion jury award Apple won in San Jose, California, in August. Apple's newest iPhone could contribute as much as one-half a percentage point to U.S. economic growth this quarter, according to an analysis by JPMorgan Chase & Co. released just before the smartphone's debut in September."Getting a judgment at the ITC means a lot," said Victor Siber, who was former chief intellectual property counsel for International Business Machines Corp., and is now at Baker Hostetler in New York. "We're not talking about small numbers. It impacts the whole economy, so they should get it as right as they can."
Samsung is the world's largest smartphone maker while Apple dominates in the U.S. In the third quarter, China iPad Case suppliers had a record 28 percent of the U.S. market to Apple's 34 percent, Spektor said.Apple has claimed phones running on Google Inc.'s Android operating system, including Samsung's, copy the look and unique features that have contributed to the iPhone's popularity since it was first sold in 2007.Apple settled with Android-handset maker HTC Corp. (2498) this month, striking a 10-year licensing agreement. Apple said Nov. 15 it is negotiating an agreement with Google's Motorola Mobility unit for binding arbitration of their disputes over how to license patents relating to technical standards all device makers must follow. A HTC-like resolution of the Apple-Samsung fight doesn't appear to be coming anytime soon. Shin Jong Kyun, the head of Samsung's mobile unit, was quoted in Korean media last week as saying the company wasn't going to negotiate with Apple.