Verizon Lawyer Calls for Apple v. Samsung Presidential Intervention to Prevent iPhone Ban

Ahead of an upcoming import ban on older Apple devices, Verizon attorney Randal Milch has published an open letter via The Wall Street Journal, calling for presidential intervention in the case to veto the ban.

High-tech products can implicate thousands of patents. If the ITC finds that a product infringes even a single one, it can stop the product at the border. But that's basically it. The commission can't levy much in the way of a lesser penalty. In the end the consumer suffers when the use of such an enforcement tool is unwarranted.

The import ban was originally scheduled back in June, after the U.S. International Trade Commission reached a decision on an ongoing Apple vs. Samsung patent case. The ITC ruled that Apple infringed on Samsung Patent No. 7,706,384, entitled "Apparatus and method for encoding/decoding transport format combination indicator in CDMA mobile communication system."

iphone4s
A cease and desist order was issued on several Apple products, including AT&T models of the iPhone 3GS and 4, the iPad 3G, and the iPad 2 3G. The ban did not go into effect immediately, however, as such rulings are given a 60 day window for the White House to intervene.

Though Verizon is not directly affected by case as it pertains solely to AT&T products, Milch believes that such a ban would further encourage patent abuse.

What we have warned is that patent litigation at the ITC—where the only remedy is to keep products from the American public—is too high-stakes a game for patent disputes. The fact that the ITC's intellectual-property-dispute docket has nearly quadrupled over 15 years only raises the stakes further. Smartphone patent litigation accounts for a substantial share of that increase.

While a presidential veto on an ITC decision has not happened since 1987, Milch suggests that intervention is necessary when the patent holder is not using the technology (as is often the case with patent trolls), when the patent holder has agreed to license the patent on reasonable terms, or when the infringement is unimportant to the overall product. Apple's infringement on Samsung's patent falls into the third category.

"There are more than 250,000 patents relevant to today’s smartphones," Milch writes. "It makes no sense that exclusion could occur for infringement of the most minor patent."

Without intervention, the cease and desist order on Apple products will go into effect on August 5, 2013. Apple has filed for an appeal and has also requested a stay on the ban.

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.5 With New Wallpaper, Screen Time Changes, Carrier Satellite Support for iPhone 13 and More

Monday May 12, 2025 10:06 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
iPhone 12 Made in India

Trump Tells Tim Cook to Stop Building iPhones in India

Thursday May 15, 2025 2:21 am PDT by
President Donald Trump has asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to halt the company's manufacturing expansion in India, in a potential disruption of Apple's plan to shift iPhone production away from China. "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said during his state visit to Qatar, according to Bloomberg. "He is building all over India." "They [India] have offered us a deal where...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
apple music

Apple Music Gets New Transfer Tool to Make Switching From Spotify Easier

Wednesday May 14, 2025 5:17 pm PDT by
Apple this week introduced a new feature designed to allow prospective Apple Music users to import their saved music and playlists from third-party music services to Apple Music. The feature is either in an expanded testing phase or it has started rolling out, and it is available in Australia and New Zealand according to an Apple Support document. Signs of the transfer option first surfaced...
maxresdefault

Here's the First Real-World Look at Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:52 am PDT by
The first videos of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience are now available, providing a never-before-seen look at the long-anticipated iPhone-linked infotainment software. British automaker Aston Martin today shared the first video of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience in-action, followed by a detailed walk-through of the CarPlay Ultra system on Top Gear's YouTube channel, which provides the...

Top Rated Comments

joecool99 Avatar
154 months ago
so what. apple will discontinue those products anyway this fall.
apple is just buying time. next.

* however as a principle, this ridiculous patent war is out of hand. the whole system of patents need a major overhaoul how they are awarded and enforced.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sputnikv Avatar
154 months ago
the low cost iphone as a replacement for the 4s makes more sense now
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dontazemebro Avatar
154 months ago
I'm pretty sure the president has more pressing matters to attend to than to worry about Samsung and Apple's pissing contest.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
StuBeck Avatar
154 months ago
No one seemed to care when Samsung was blocked from the Australian market for a year. I'm not sure why they're suddenly concerned when it affects them.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Klae17 Avatar
154 months ago
Here's a lawyer I can stand by!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kdarling Avatar
154 months ago
Because the current patents are in question, they cannot act on this until the questions are answered in THE CURRENT lawsuits, in the JUDICIAL BRANCH. The US ITC cannot determine if patents were infringed until a federal court, the Judicial branch, decides if patents were infringed on by the current laws put in place by the Legislative branch.
The ITC specifically exists to determine if imported goods infringe on US patents. This means that it has a lot of patent experience... certainly far, far more than most courts and juries.

That experience is why the Federal Courts will often defer a patent trial until the ITC has made an infringement determination. The courts don't have to follow the ITC decision, but it can be a big influence on companies settling ahead of time.

That's why Apple is a big user of the ITC. For example, they used it to leverage HTC into a deal, by getting a ban on their imports.

If the US ITC is able to ban imports based on a decision they make; and the decisions and questions are working its ways through courts; THEN they are overstepping their boundaries and acting like a court without any oversight. They are setting a very dangerous president.
That precedent was set decades ago. As for oversight, you can appeal their decisions to the President and to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC).

Note that the ITC can only ban imports. They cannot award damages etc... that's for the Federal courts.

The fact that they can only ban imports has another ramification that no one has mentioned yet: Motorola's latest phones are being built in the US. They cannot be banned by the ITC! That might be one reason why Apple is also thinking of moving some production back here.

Full disclosure: I'm against software patents, so I don't believe in the bans, either. Just repeating what the facts are, not supporting them.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)