On Friday, news surfaced that an ITC judge has ruled against Samsung Electronics, claiming the electronics device maker has infringed on “a key portion” of an Apple patent.
The International Trade Commission judge said in a preliminary decision that the infringement relates to Samsung’s inclusion of a text-selection feature in its popular line of smartphones and tablets.
According to coverage from Reuters, Samsung did not infringe on portions of a second Apple patent relating to the ability of a device to detect if a microphone or other device is plugged into its microphone jack.
The ruling was issued back on March 26th but it was held from public knowledge until late Thursday so that Samsung and Apple redact any sensitive business information before news reached the media.
The full commission must now decide if they will uphold or overturn the judge’s decision.
The final ruling is expected in August.
