US: Senate’s Klobuchar sends letter to White House on iPhone import ban

Following a ruling against Apple Inc. and its use of a Samsung-owned patent, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MI) and several of her colleagues have sent a letter to the International Trade Commission regarding the regulator’s decision to ban imports of some earlier models of Apple products, including iPhones and iPads, that use the infringing patent. Reports say Senator Klobuchar, along with Mike Lee (R-UT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and James Risch (R-ID) have all sent the letter to the ITC alleging the ruling misuses the FRAND patent policy and poses a threat to technological innovation. The letter to the White House claims that such misuse of the policy, which stands for fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, will deter companies from standard-setting, thereby hiking costs. The ITC decided last June that Apple had infringed on Samsung’s patent; the ruling will need to be signed by President Obama before it goes into effect. Several of Apple’s competitors, including Microsoft, have also rallied behind the tech giant against the ITC’s ruling.

Full Content: The Register

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