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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics is asking the United
States to prohibit Apple from importing key products including the
latest iPhone and iPad devices amid an escalating patent
dispute.
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Samsung filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade
Commission over what it claims are Apple’s violation of five
patents held by Samsung, the Suwon, South Korea-based company said
Thursday. The complaint was filed Wednesday.
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“The complaint requests relief in the form of a permanent exclusion
order prohibiting entry to the United States of all Apple products
in violation of these patents,” Samsung said in a statement, adding
that the items include the iPhone 4, iPad 2 and iPod
Touch.
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Though Apple is a U.S. company, many of its products are assembled
in China and exported to the United States.
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Apple Inc. spokesman Steve Park in Seoul declined comment on the
complaint.
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Consumers shouldn’t worry about being able to buy products. These
disputes take months or years to resolve and typically end with
payments of licensing fees rather than any import ban.
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On June 14, Apple agreed to pay Nokia Corp. a one-time sum to
settle their long-standing disputes over patents that cover
features such as swiping gestures on touch screens and the built-in
“app store” for downloading updated programs. The amount wasn’t
disclosed.
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The action by Samsung is the latest move in a fight that began in
April when Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc. sued Samsung
Electronics Co. in a California court claiming that Samsung’s
Galaxy line of smartphones and tablet computers copy its iPad and
iPhone.
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Samsung responded by filing lawsuits in South Korea, the U.S. and
elsewhere alleging patent violations by Apple. Apple then came back
last week and filed a lawsuit against Samsung in Seoul Central
District Court, taking the battle to the South Korean company’s
home turf.
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Other companies are involved in similar disputes. Apple has sued
Taiwan’s HTC Corp., one of the leading producers of phones that run
on Google Inc.’s Android software, a potential challenger to
Apple’s popular iPhone. Microsoft Corp. has sued Motorola over
Android phones, too.
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The disputes highlight the growth of so-called smart devices such
as phones and tablets and the intense competition for customers
amid the products’ soaring popularity spurred by Apple’s 2007
launch of the iPhone. Samsung, the world’s second-largest
manufacturer of mobile phones, got a slower start in smartphones
but has been catching up with its Galaxy brand.
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Samsung and Apple are not only competitors. Apple, driven by the
success of the iPhone and iPad, become the world’s largest buyer of
chips for computers and phones last year, according to research
firm IHS iSuppli.
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Samsung, the world’s biggest manufacturer of memory chips, declined
to say exactly how much it sells to Apple.
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“Apple is our competitor, but at the same time it is one of our
biggest customers,” Samsung spokesman Nam Ki-yung said. “And we
can’t discuss our customers.”
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The International Trade Commission is an independent U.S. federal
agency that deals with issues that affect trade including dumping,
subsidies and safeguards and also judges import cases dealing with
intellectual property rights, according to its website.
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The commission can order imports of products made with contested
technology to be blocked. Disputes are typically resolved in 12 to
18 months.
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“We hope the ITC makes a decision as soon as possible,” Samsung’s
Nam said.
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Copyright
© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
