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US trade panel to probe Apple complaints against SamsungWASHINGTON, Aug 02, 2011 (dpa - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The US International Trade Commission is to investigate Apple's complaint of patent violations against South Korean-based Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the trade panel announced Tuesday. The statement said the investigation would cover mobile handsets and tablet computers, based on a complaint filed by Apple last month in which it alleged that Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablet computers and Galaxy S smartphones copied many of their basic features from Apple's iPhone and iPad. Apple has asked the trade commission, an independent government agency, to block the import to the United States of the allegedly infringing items. The ITC stressed in its statement that the decision to pursue the investigation did not indicate any decision on the merits of the case. The announcement came just a day after Samsung postponed the launch of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in Australia, in a patent dispute with Apple Inc that centres on its likeness to the US company's iPad 2. That was the latest round in an escalating patent war between the two companies, which began in April when Apple sued Samsung in the US, alleging that the Galaxy phone and tablet copied features from the iPhone and iPad. Samsung countersued. Apple sued Taiwan-based smartphone maker HTC in March for 20 instances of patent infringement, and filed suit in October against Motorola, alleging that its multi-touch smartphones use intellectual property owned by Apple. To see more of dpa, go to http://www.dpa.de/English.82.0.html Copyright (c) 2011, dpa, Berlin Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |