Stefan Mileschin

The US government is encouraging patent troll actions against foreign companies while protecting its own from any counter attacks.

It had been thought that President Barrack Obama would intervene to stop Apple winning a patent troll case against Samsung. He had already stepped in and stopped Apple products being banned in the US because they violated Samsung patents. At last this would mean an end to patent trolls trying to shut down their competition using the US International Trade Commission's (ITC) power to block the import of products.

Yesterday Obama indicated that he would not stop a Samsung product ban in the US, which means that his move to defend Apple was nothing to do with squashing Patent Trolls, but the first shots in a trade war with South Korea.

Basically what Obama is saying is that it is OK for US companies, like Apple, to use patents to prevent rivals from trading in the US, but it is not OK for foreign companies, like Samsung to use its patents in self-defence.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman, said in a statement that after carefully weighing policy considerations, including the impact on consumers and competition, advice from agencies, and information from interested parties, he had decided to allow" the import ban.

Samsung can now seek a delay in the ban from a US appeals court that will consider the entire case on legal grounds, but the company must be in shock at the unfairness of it all.

It had asked Obama to overturn the ban ordered by the ITC on public policy grounds, which was the same relief the president gave Apple in August from an order barring imports of the iPhone 4S.

http://news.techeye.net/business/oba...atent-trolling