By Kim Yoo-chul
U.S. Congress has allegedly meddled in the current patent dispute between Apple and Samsung, ostensibly in favor of Apple ahead of a key patent dispute ruling.
Congress sent a letter calling for the International Trade Commission (ITC) to take public interest into consideration when making a final ruling over an allegation of Apple’s willful infringement of some Samsung patents.
The move is widely seen as a sensitive one, given that it is barely a week to the much anticipated ITC’s final ruling on the Samsung-Apple patent dispute on May 31.
The dispute in question is about “standard-essential patents.” ITC is the quasi-government agency of the United States.
“In June of last year, several of us wrote to Chairman Okun with regard to the availability of the exclusion order as a remedy for cases in which ‘standard-essential patents’ (SEPs) are asserted,” said a letter sent by four U.S. Senators to ITC Commissioner Irving Williamson on May 21.
“We write today to reiterate our request that the Commission carefully assess the substantial public interest considerations that exist with regard to this and other cases at the ITC in which SEPs are at issue,” stated the letter obtained by the Korea Times, Friday.
The letter, co-signed by Senator Mike Lee, Amy Klobuchar, Jim Risch and Mark Begich, continued; “We urge the Commission to consider the following public interest arguments carefully as it proceeds and ask that you make this letter part of the public record.”
In March this year, the ITC delayed its final decision to block the sale of either Apple or Samsung products in the United States.
Later, the ITC asked Apple to submit its official response to the impact of sales ban of Apple products in the public interest.
The letter claims that businesses and consumers depend on a reliable standards setting process to promote interoperability and expand choice and these standards are crucial to ensuring that consumers have access to a competitive market of compatible products.
“Many companies that participate in setting industry standards contribute patented technology to the standardization process. As a result, standard-essential patents are inevitably infringed when the standard is implemented,” the letter wrote.
Congress however contend that they take no sides in the case insisting that it should be judged on its merits. “And similarly we take no position on the merits of the above-captioned case.”
In June 2011, Samsung reported that some of its wireless patents relating to encoding and decoding transmission, receiving and sending data transmission and dialing for smartphones and user interface to be used in operating digital documents were infringed by Apple. These patents are considered SEPs.
Samsung then asked the ITC to block a complete sale of Apple iPhones, iPods and iPads in the United States.
In September last year, the ITC ruled in favor of Apple but two months later, the ITC said it was going to completely review its preliminary ruling that favored Apple citing controversies around SEPs.
“There are some possibilities that the ITC may block the sale of some Apple’s iPhone models at its final ruling on May 31. U.S. senators are helping Apple,” said an industry official asking not to be identified.
If the ITC rules against Apple in the upcoming final ruling, then the agency can ask U.S. President Barack Obama for the sales ban on Apple products on its home turf. Obama then will have 60-days to decide whether to accept the ITC ruling or not.