Samsung, Apple Agree to Drop ITC Appeals

Samsung and Apple have both dropped their respective appeals to a ruling of the U.S. International Trade Commission banning certain Samsung products, raising hopes that a three-year global patent battle between the two companies may be coming to an end.

The Foss Patents blog said Samsung dropped its appeal in a U.S. federal appeals court on June 12 and Apple followed suit the next day.

In August last year, the ITC slapped import bans on Samsung's Galaxy S2, Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab 10.1 after ruling that they infringed Apple's patents. Apple then sought import bans on more Samsung devices, prompting the Korean electronics giant to appeal.

Industry insiders believe Samsung and Apple may be inching toward a settlement, but others say the battle is far from over, with the two companies still locked in a dispute in a U.S. federal court in San Jose, California.

One industry insider said, "The two companies dropped their appeals to wrap up one case that wasn't very beneficial to either side, but that shouldn't be interpreted as a truce."

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