Week 5 EOC: Apple-Samsung battle

Apple and Samsung are two of the top technology companies as far as cell phones and tablets go.  Apple has tried to ban older models of Samsung phones from being sold in the US and Samsung has done the same to Apple; both of which were denied. The ITC had earlier issued an order banning the import of some older iPhone and iPad products but the Obama Administration stepped in last weekend to veto that move (AllthingsD.com). Since the case last year Samsung has stopped selling most of the products that they have been accused of stealing which could make it difficult for Apple to take the victory in appeals court. Apple still has won a case against Samsung, for a lessor amount of money, but Samsung will have a new trial. One week after Samsung sued Apple in the ITC court, Apple filed a counter-suit citing several patent infringements, including on the hardware design of the iPhone (Money.Cnn.com). A federal judge on Friday slashed nearly half of the $1 billion damage award a jury ordered Samsung Electronics to pay Apple Inc. after a high-profile trial over the rights to the design and technology running some of the world's most popular smartphones and tablet computers U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh lowered the damages awarded to Apple Inc. by $450.5 million for 14 Samsung products including some products in its hot-selling Galaxy lineup, saying jurors had not properly followed her instruction in calculating some of the damages. Also on Friday, the International Trade Commission, a quasi-judicial federal agency that can block imports of foreign-made goods, is expected to issue a ruling on whether Samsung infringed several different Apple patents (The Wall Street Journal).