Today may be a big day for Samsung thanks to the company's Galaxy Note II event, but a U.S. International Trade Commission judge just handed down a ruling that may put a slight damper on Samsung's day. Judge Thomas Pender today handed down an initial determination (PDF link) saying that Samsung is guilty of infringing upon four Apple patents, one of which is design-related while the other three are utility patents. It wasn't a complete victory for Apple, though, as Pender found that Samsung didn't infringe on two other Apple patents. There are several Samsung-made smartphones, including the Epic 4G and Transform, and Galaxy Tab models. involved in the case.
Today's decision by Judge Pender is of the preliminary variety, meaning that it must be reviewed by all six members of the ITC's commission before any sort of import ban could be put in place. It'll likely be a while before we get a decision, too, as the committee is targeting February 29, 2013. Neither Apple nor Samsung has commented on today's decision, but I'm sure that Apple is happy to have another victory in the seemingly ever-growing legal war between it and Samsung, especially after a different ITC judge ruled last month that Apple didn't violate four Samsung patents. If you'd like to spice up your Wednesday evening by reading through Judge Pender's full filing, you can find it at the ITC link below.
