Apple asks ITC for broad ban on imports of Samsung products

Apple has asked the International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban imports of Samsung devices into the US as the patent infringement battle between the two companies becomes increasingly acrimonious.

Samsung went to the ITC last week with a similar request, both companies claiming that the other has infringed on patents for the hardware design of tablets and their operating systems.

"It has become very public and very ugly, very quickly," Brian Marshall, an analyst with Gleacher & Co, told Bloomberg. "They're just going for each other's throats."

The dispute started in April when Apple filed suit against Samsung, claiming that the Galaxy Tab line of tablets infringed on its intellectual property.

Samsung countersued and Apple upped the odds, including last week asking a US district court for a ban on the Korean company's products entering the US.

"In such a dispute time is of the essence: you don't want your adversary to obtain an injunction - or an injunction-like ITC import ban - against your products before you have the same leverage," said Florian Mueller, a software patents specialist, on the FOSS Patents blog.

"Apple's motion for a preliminary injunction will have to be adjudicated well ahead of an ITC decision, which usually takes 16 to 18 months.

"But Apple can't rely on that particular strike alone. Should the motion for a preliminary injunction be denied, the ITC is usually a faster track to a decision than the federal courts."