Following last year’s ITC import ban loss to Apple after the Obama Administration overturned the import ban originally won by Samsung, the Justice Department opened its own investigation into whether the Korean manufacturer was abusing its own standards essential patent pool to trigger litigation against Apple and opened the investigation after Samsung first sued Apple via the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Since the ban was overturned, the Justice Department has decided that the investigation is now unnecessary, but it has stated that it will continue to monitor Samsung’s patent litigation in the US. Standards essential patents must be licensed at fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory rates according to multiple agreements signed between manufacturers in order to avoid unnecessary litigation.
