In June Apple suffered its first loss in a patent case with Samsung when the ITC ruled patent violation and called for an import ban on all Apple devices using the patent. This would have eventually made it impossible to buy an official, new iPhone 3, 3GS, and 4 as well as the first-, second-, and third-generation iPads in the U.S. Though President Obama had a period of 60 days to veto the important band on public policy grounds, he was expected to let the ruling stay – after all, an ITC ruling has not been vetoed in decades.
According to Forbes, the decision to veto the import ban was made in part to maintain competition in the economy and to curb the ever-heightening patents battle.
Though the veto can be seen as a low blow to the underdog in these patent battles, it should also be taken as a good omen for consumers. As it stands, the U.S. patent system hinders technological advancement by limiting the way companies can adopt technological innovations started by others for far too long. Today, with innovation growing at rates exponentially faster than in recent history, new technologies patented by one company will often not become available to others until the technology is obsolete. We need to update our patent system to allow for shorter-term patents. This way new technologies can no longer be monopolized by one company or another for such a long time, limiting our choices as consumers.
What do you think of Apple’s seemingly endless patent battles? Are you happy to see that these devices will still be available on the U.S. market? Are you disappointed to see the patent giant survive this blow?