US: Tech rivals ban together to fight iPhone import ban

As Apple prepares for some of its products to be banned from being imported into the US beginning next week, the company is seeing support from some of its largest industry peers – as well as some of its largest rivals.

In a ruling by the US International Trade Commission, Apple products including the iPhone 4 and some models of the iPad were found to have infringed on a Samsung patents concerning cell data. The result is a import ban on the products that infringe on the particular patent, though the ruling did not come without controversy.

Reports say in addition to support from the Federal Trade Commission and other antitrust officials, Apple Inc. is reportedly receiving support from some of the largest tech giants in the country including Microsoft, Oracle, AT&T, Verizon and Intel, the latter of which is scheduled to testify on the matter at the Senate hearing.

A trade group representing companies including Microsoft and Oracle told reporters that only unusual circumstances should warrant a product ban on the basis of infringement on essential industry patents. Verizon sent a letter to President Obama last week regarding the situation, asking the White House to overturn the ban, which is set to go into effect August 4. Previous reports in the Wall Street Journal say officials from both the FTC as well as the US Department of Justice have voiced their opposition to the ban.

Antitrust regulators in the US have debated standard essential patents, known as SEPs, frequently as officials gear up their fight against patent trolls, which acquire SEPs with the sole purpose of bringing companies to court that use such patents.

Full Content: Cult of Mac and The Verge

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