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Obama vetoes ban on iPhone 4 and 3G iPad 2

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obamaAbout two months ago, the US International Trade Commission ruled that Apple’s iPhone 4 and 3G iPad 2 were infringing upon a Samsung wireless 3G patent, and ruled an import ban on the devices. Well, the ban didn’t last, as Barack Obama vetoed it at the end of his 60-day review period, specifying that since the patent in question comes under FRAND, the ban is an unfit punishment.

While on the face of it Apple seems to be the winner here, I’m personally in favor of the decision. Monetarily, the ban was never going to hurt Apple that much, and while various Android devices have suffered due to injunctions in the past, a precedent has been set for the long run.

This patent and injunction craziness had to stop somewhere, hopefully this veto is that point.

Raveesh Bhalla

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168 Comments

  1. Excellent. I know the comments section is about to get flooded by mindless Apple bashing but in this case, this was the right decision since the patent was under FRAND.

    1. More likely mindless Obama bashing. Its already started.

      1. mindless isheep supporting and mindless obama supporting happens all the time.

        1. Yes, have your favorite person run for President, or any other office saying he’s going to ban products from a US company to benefit an offshore company, lets see if you get elected on that platform.

          I agree with the author, none of the products in the past should be banned from import.

          1. It is a US commission using rules set up by the US government that ruled against a US company. Laws work only it is applied without favoritism. This is not a case of favoring a foreign company over a US company. This is excusing an US company of wrong doing purely because it is a US company.

          2. Oh year Apple is such a wonderful US company. Out of tens of thousands of employees they employ roughly 26 Americans on US soil.

          3. It’s 28 you forgot the 2 hired lobbists they keep in Washington.

    2. I’ve felt that in recent years there’s been much more negative views and news stories about Apple due to their aggressive litigation. Instead of hearing about the latest great product Apple is releasing or working towards it’s another patent battle.

      Let’s just increase licensing technology folks and stop all this fighting. Everyone is making money hand over fist, neither Apple nor Samsung are going broke. Licensing deals.

      1. Apple did offer to settle with Samsung, but they declined. I agree though, licensing is the solution.

        1. Was the offer fair? Probably not.

        2. Well giving samsung an ultimatum is not negotiating.

      2. Apple wanted to license but they wanted an obscene amount (I believe something like $9 a device) for something that is ridiculous to begin with. They shouldn’t have to license general ideas in technology that had existed long before the iPhone. Icons aligned to a grid-based interface? Are you ****ing kidding me?

        1. They should start shaming situations like this in public then. “Hey everyone, we tried to work with Samsung on licensing but look how much they gave us”…

          Some transparency in this area would be better and give consumers more information so they can understand fully why companies turn to all this litigation. One side is acting unfairly? Shame them in public, show us their dirty laundry.

    3. I thought the article was a mis-post from the Onion. That photo clinched it.
      As far as this being real, one incident does not a pattern make. I want to see the president continue to be active in trimming the patent insanity that we’ve been having. He said a few weeks ago something was going to change.

    4. the veto had nothing to do with the patent being under FRAND or not…the veto was placed to protect the american economy. in other words, a home veto

  2. Obama is gay….that’s why

    1. Hey not fair, I *AM* gay but would never side with Apple…I’m not THAT evil. ;)

      1. Some people are either 13 years old or never matured past that and realized that gay isn’t really useful as an insult. Not to mention extremely prejudice.

        1. if someone calls me gay or thinks im gay, id be pissed..

  3. If these were Android devices, the ban would have stuck.

    1. that’s what I’m pissed off at too. where was Obama when android device should’ve been protected under FRAND

      1. He probably is an apple fanboy himself

        1. he is actually, I read at one time that Steve Jobs gave him an iPad 2 pre-launch (not kidding)

      2. I think its pretty unfair that they change the rules half way into the game to favor one player over the other. Apple has sued and banned device’s ranging from HTC to Samsung yet nobody stuck up for them but now that its starting to backfire on Apple, they seem to think its unfair, because it wasn’t then when they were the ones doing the banning ? Why don’t they also let Samsung walk away from their last litigation with no loss of profits, especially since Apple dint even have the rights to the patents used against them. The worst part of this is that Apple is going to walk scott free, no charges or ban’s, yet they still used tech they had no rights to.

        1. The difference is Apple sues and gets devices banned based on ground breaking features like bounce-back. Other companies try to sue but since their patents are on features that actually make the phone work there can be no punishment.

          1. apple just needs to pay the price for the technology but they refused to and want to low ball the prices. apple should get smacked with a ban.

        2. to be fair, if Obama doesn’t back up an American company he will be bashed for years to come

    2. I can’t even see him reviewing banned Android devices. What makes Apple so special?

      1. Their a U.S company, or at least that’s what they claim, although their business transactions seem to be telling a different story.

        1. Android is a Google product, and therefore a US company. Samsung is a foreign company.

          1. And how many 80 billion does Apple have off shore to avoid taxes and how much of the iphone/ipad is built offshore? What a joke of a US company. I would love to see WTO or whoever it is call us out on this.

          2. “Samsung is a foreign company”, A foreign company that helped put Android on top and is almost single handedly keeping it on top, at the end of the day this decision could make other foreign companies have reservations about doing business in the US as Obamas decision will be viewed by many outsiders as “protectionism” and favoritism.

      2. U.S. based company that has influence in presidential elections. One party (Democrats) wouldn’t want to piss off that big of a corp before the next elections.

  4. I didn’t even really pay attention to what the post was even about. I saw Obama’s face and just went straight to the comments to say….Obama is gay

    1. I wouldn’t use the word “gay”, but I don’t like the way he handles being a president either.

    2. You’re throwing around the word gay as if it’s negative. It’s not even an insult, it’s just incorrect in this case and only shows your own ignorance and immaturity. If you’re going to critique his flaws, please do so in a civilized, educated manner.

      1. Don’t be that guy.

        1. I don’t know what you’re talking about.

          1. You’re being that guy.

          2. And you need to go back to your own country Minja. Fat Mod everyone on the forum cant stand.

          3. lol at bad attempt at research. I’m a US citizen for your information.

          4. We don’t believe it for a minute.

      2. being gay is abnormal behavior. i see you fallen for the gay propaganda from hollywood. every tv show/movie has a token gay on the show and they are ALWAYS shown in a good light. you are brainwashed

        1. No, you are brain washed.

          1. 27% were for gay marriage in 1990, now 52%. Why? and why the hatred towards Christians? Oh, because in every movie/show Christians are shown as dumb, or weird. Open your eyes. The media is funded by the government. I bet you didn’t know that either.

          2. You know why its now 52%? because many of the people who are for gay marriage now were 3 and 5 years old in 1990 and didnt have a vote… This new age of young adults are much more conscious about the equality of others than 60 and 70 year old bigots are…

            FYI I’m Christian and I’m for gay marriage. Christians arent shown as dumb and wierd on tv.movies… in fact religion is mostly ignored in mainstream TV and only slightly hinted to when it comes to marriage scenes or death.

            The Christians who are making other christians look dumb or weird are those radicals who spew hypercritical and contradicting nonsense.

          3. inforwars dot com….get educated. This stuff is real.

        2. you’re the one who is being brainwasheed if you go to tv shows and movies to learn about people who are different than you. Whether movies paint them in a good light or a bad light should have no basis on real life. You don’t learn to be a decent human being from a romantic comedy.

          1. youtube, “eric holder brainwashing” this is nothing new. you need to learn critical thinking skills. because hollywerid hates Christians, hates conservatives and hates libertarians even more. Margret Sanger is praised by Hillary Clinton. Sanger started planned parenthood in order to kill blacks via abortion. Now 52% of American blacks are aborted. That’s genocide. They want to depopulate the word. Gays don’t reproduce so they are pro gays. Look up on youtube, the owner of CNN “Ted Turner Population Control” He wants to depopulate the world by 80-95% (depending on the vid you watch of him saying it) Bill Gates is giving vaccines that paralyze and increase the risk of autism because these two groups don’t reproduce. You think the government loves you don’t you? Liberals are evil. Open your eyes you pretend-to-be-Christian to agrue with me.

          2. lmao there are so many holes in your argument i dont even know where to begin. Half of your basis contradicts what most republicans complain about when it comes to the democrat party on the daily basis.

            1) you entire argument is based off the fact that every gay rights supporter follows the words of someone who sits behind a desk and microphone at 10pm every night, people actually have thoughts and feelings of how they think life should be.

            2) If most liberals are poor and lazy then wouldnt most of these “rich” millionaire and billionaire movie producers, financiers, CEOs of movie studios, and actors be republican anyway? Why would they all hate conservatives? Unless they are all just being self deprecating just to make a buck or two… well then you should complain to your party and not to the other.

            3) Abortion is an option, not a mandate, And since the majority of african americans are democratic, i highly doubt Obama and Hillary are trying to kill off one of their party’s largest demographic of voters… that doesn’t seem like a well thought out plan to me. Also, wouldn’t it be easier to just not have “obamacare” if they wanted all of the poor minorities to just die off?

            4) Gays dont reproduce, that’s true… I’m not sure how good you are in psychology and science, but i dont think there are any credible sources that show “legalizing of gay rights means everyone will turn gay.” But maybe i just overlooked those intensive studies. I’m pretty sure it means, for those of you who are Gay and have to pay taxes and follow all the same rules like everyone else, should get the same benefits of everyone else.. because technically speaking, that’s just fair business. isnt that what they teach you in grade school?

            5) Those vaccines that Bill gates is giving out? Arent they meant to cure the death of malaria, predominantly death by kids in third world countries? So he is saving the lives of this kids (who wouldnt be able to reproduce if they were dead) and is instead giving them autism so they cant reproduce… Seems like either way that population wasn’t going to be reproducing anyway… seems like a waste of time and resources if you ask me… they should probably have hit up a more flourishing demographic, probably one in a first world country cuz they use more of the earth’s resources. These african countries as a whole have the energy footprint of a small town in Minnesota.

            6) I don’t think the government loves me at all. But i think they need me if they want to get re-elected so they gives us a bone or two every now n then to keep us on their side. The only differences is that the republicans and democrats give their bones to two different demographics.

            7) Pretend to be christian? Why? because im more liberal than you? Majority of hispanic and african americans are democratic as well. Guess what the predominant religion among those groups of people are? hmm? Christianity…

            or am i just a pretend to be christian because because I’m ok with gay rights? doesn’t it say in the Bible, that you should love thy neighbor no matter what? Love the prostitutes, love the murderers, love the thieves, treat them all with respect? It also says do not kill does it not?

            I’m a pretend to be christian because the parts of the Bible i pick and chose to follow are different from the parts of the Bible that you pick and chose to follow? That’s silly. Get some consistencies in your argument before you can be taken seriously…

            Anyways…. lets go Nexus 5!

  5. we need a new president

    1. This is true, regardless of how anyone feels about this decision.

    2. I’d be pretty happy without one, new or otherwise.

      1. Somalia sounds like the perfect country for you.

        1. Well, that is certainly an unoriginal, boring, misleading, irrelevant, ignorant and intellectually dishonest assertion to make. Not to mention clearly false. I can assure you that there is nothing of Somalia that I find appealing whatsoever.

          I have no idea why you would think that it’s reasonable to make the leap from my statement, indicating that I do not feel we need an individual with near dictatorial powers over hundreds of millions of people, to the idea that I would like to live in a war-torn poverty stricken tropical pirate haven.

          Okay, I get it. You see my statement as having a libertarian bent, and that’s true enough. Less government and less powerful government is good in my book. You don’t share my viewpoint, and I totally get that. Maybe you want someone to keep you secure. I appreciate that, and I would never dispute your right to subjugate yourself to any sort of ruler you think can give you that.

          And as for your boring old Somalia argument, I won’t blame you for that. You’ve just seen others use it (again and again) and thought it was funny and clever. That’s cool. I’m all for stealing other people’s clever ideas. (RIP Steve Jobs!) The problem here is that this really isn’t a clever idea at all. In fact, it really has no bearing whatsoever on the arguments people apply it to.

          The thing is, the lot of an average Somali has improved many times over since the collapse of their brutal dictatorship in 1991. Their economic fate has also been much brighter than that of their African peers who have maintained their governments in the interim. (Look into it, the differences are really stark.) One could assume that things would be even better were it not for the continuous arming of warring factions by the UN. Many factors contribute to the dismal state of Somalia, but lack of a central state is not one of them.

          And for the sake of argument, let’s pretend none of this is true. Let’s say Somalia had collapsed from a western standard of living to their current poverty and it could be easily linked to their statelessness. Even then, your argument would be about as meaningful of me telling a proponent of a central state, “You really would have like Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge.”

          1. Yup. Somalia is about your speed. Less government is precisely what you want, and what you’ll get there. I need more government, because more government creates wealth and success – from scratch if needed. Good luck arguing with that fact, because it’s impossible. Without a government to protect you from the likes of Pol Pot and tribal strongmen, you’ll end up with Somalia, and Cambodia, and Haiti, and the list goes on. And it is directly related to the lack of a strong central state, that allows for people with the most guns, or leading the military, to establish their own hierarchy and exploit the populace. History is not on your side. Nor will it ever be. Libertarianism is great for pot heads and children. It is awful for reality and adulthood.

          2. Thanks.

            Sometimes people come back with actual arguments and then a person has to go through the trouble of thinking about their points and formulating a proper response. Other times people like you decide to spout out a bunch of angry drivel which even people on your side of the argument can’t fail to see as absurd. That saves me the trouble. I appreciate it.

            “Big strong abusive governments murdering their citizens are the result of failure to have a big strong government.” At least you were original this time. Though to be honest you might just want to stick to stealing other people’s bad arguments.

          3. Where was there a big strong abusive government in Cambodia precisely??? There was a military. End of line. There was no government, at all. It was overthrown in a coup, and didn’t exist until those evil Vietnamese propped it back up in 1980 up to the point the monarchy was restored in the early 90s, and even then there were disputes on the international stage in recognizing who ruled the country. The Vietnamese supported government was still not big, or strong, and naturally civil war raged there for most of the 80s though the genocide – which occurred when there was a lack of government – had ended.

            Keep up your axiomatic statements though. You might be able to win an argument against a 5th grader or total moron presenting your views, but you’re about 40 years past the time they’d be looked at seriously… And even then, only for the briefest of periods.

          4. You really shouldn’t bother replying anymore. Save your arguments for a debate you haven’t already clearly lost. When, after I completely demolished your Somalia statement you replied by, rather than actually attempting to refute any of my arguments, simply reasserting your childish claim that “Somalia is about your speed,” you lost all credibility here.

            Now you’re actually trying to redefine a totalitarian Marxist regime as some kind of anarchy, which is quite amazing. Your head must truly hurt from the cognitive dissonance involved in trying to hold your absurd position together. The big government you seem to be overlooking in Cambodia is the one that was heavily regulating every aspect of economic and social life of everyone in that geographic region. I mentioned them above. Remember? The Khmer Rouge.

            And I should also point out that your misuse of rhetorical devices isn’t helping you out any. I can assure you, I haven’t made any axiomatic statements. If I wanted to find axiomatic statements in this discussion, the easiest would be “And it is directly related to the lack of a strong central state…” Why? Because you said so. So there.

            And your sad attempts at sideways Ad Hominem attacks are telling in your lack of understanding of your position. Attempting to lump me in with “pot heads” and using terms like “total moron,” are quite inelegant and, you may be surprised to learn, don’t add anything to your weak position.

            I’m going to be honest, friend, you’re not doing well. But don’t be too embarrassed. I’d be surprised if two people other than us made it through all of this.

          5. I haven’t lost anything here. You don’t know history. You didn’t know that the Khmer Rouge was a military regime that overthrew the rightful government, and you still don’t because you’re an absolute moron that’s only attempting to get the last word with diatribes – and the Khmer Rouge having been supported by the Chinese during a power struggle between the Soviets and Chinese on the UN security council with the Soviets ultimately prevailing thru Vietnam is another historical fact totally lost on you. None of the 4 nations in discussion there are Marxist, either, for the record. Nor were they at that point in history, or any point prior. China is Maoist. Soviet Union was Leninist, then Stalinist, then Trotskyist, and back to Leninist. Vietnam is Leninist. Cambodia is a monarchy, with a Maoist general that attempted a coup. These are all very different than Marxism, but you wouldn’t know, because you have no concept of history or ideologies.

            You haven’t refuted my Somalia statement, because you want less government, they have no government, and if you want it you can try it out any time – and beg a warlord for your food…

            And items being directly related to the lack of strong central governments is quite historically accurate. Perhaps, again, take some history courses in your life. Let’s divorce your future home of Somalia from the discussion. Pakistan has a weak central government. It can not control its outer regions and warlords. Its entire military focus is solely upon Kashmir, and the fact they’re a nuclear power. So since they have a weak government, and they can not control even the whole of their country… What occurs there? Terrorist organization training, unchecked.

            Libertarianism has been dead since the day it was born in the 70s. Ad hominem, no. It’s a sinple fact it’s for children and total morons. For only those two groups wish away things that are done for their best interests being at heart. Children get sent to bed at a certain time, so they aren’t miserable and tired the next day. Government makes laws, so their people have a general sense of welfare, can be productive, and expand the wealth of a nation.

          6. You are clearly letting your anger get the best of you. Your ability to form cohesive thoughts, weak from the beginning, is completely falling apart now.

            I can assure you that all of the claims you have made regarding me are patently false.

            You can argue semantics regarding the differences in failed socialist ideologies all you like, but that is once again just dodging the actual point of what I have said. If you want to keep doing that, you should at least get better at it so that it’s not so obvious.

            Most of the historical points you have made are at least close to the truth, though perhaps presented in a way that shows misunderstanding of their significance. But I can’t let you get away with calling the Khmer Rouge an “attempted coup.” It was a very successful coup. Pol Pot overthrew the existing monarchy and established full control of the country for several years. His government was quite strong while it lasted, and certainly fell under the definition of a totalitarian regime.

            I’m afraid I’ve become bored with you. If you have anything actually thoughtful or interesting to say, I’ll be happy to read it. I won’t, though, waste my time any any more of the childish drivel exemplified above.

          7. You clearly have zero concept of history. Pol Pot may have toppled the monarchy, but he never controlled the country. The same day the monarchy admitted defeat, Vietnam began propping the resistance up instead. The same day. No gap in times. The civil war raged on. The killing fields were his method to force control, which he never succeeded at in his 4 short years of recognized control – recognized solely by China, mind you. Full control, is unopposed control. Castro assumed full control of Cuba. Enemies fled the nation. Ho Chi Minh assumed full control. Enemies fled the country. His government wasn’t strong, it was fractured. He killed millions more civilians than any war in the country ever did – yet he couldn’t beat them into submission. Quit pretending to have a clue. And quit pretending your views on government are anything more than poison.

    3. When your only option is the lesser of two evils, you’re screwed either way.

      1. That attitude is what got us into this mess!

        1. Lol do you really believe that Romney would have acted any different, the man that reopened a soup kitchen afterhours just to get a shot of himself “helping out” to publish and brag about.

          1. nice

          2. How about the fact Romney has some at least an iota of business and economic knowledge outside of a college? Give me experience over rhetoric.

          3. The guys is a political joke literally, all i have been hearing since day one is that he is a business man but people forget that he was born into an extremely wealthy and well connected family. Paris Hilton owns a few hotels but nobody considers her a business women.

    4. We need a President who actually understands the concepts of business and economics.

    5. Don’t worry, we’ll have one in a few years.

  6. Obama has ran out of f—ks to give, since it’s his last term and how he already been painted as a liar from the NSA fallout. So why not put the icing on the cake and save an US company who stole another company’s technology and was found guilty of it?

    ‘Murica.

    1. And the crazy thing is Bush approved the NSA spying but Obama is taking the heat for it.

      1. Obama is taking the heat for it because he promised “change” from Bush era policies, but in reality, Obama is doing the same thing as Bush.

  7. Irrespective of the Apple/Android thing here, this sends a very clear message to foreign companies.

    1. Yes. Time to use government powers to keep competition out and not to waste time on the US market since the Obama administration is just going to screw you anyways.

    2. Apple still need to quit using foreign tax shelters and pay their US taxes! that message should have been sent too!

      1. That would set a dangerous precedent for all of the politicians and very wealthy – they wouldn’t be able to use tax shelters either!
        Meh, the government would just do something stupid with the money, like start another war, give it to people who hate us, usr it to give military hardware to people who will hate us shortly and use it against us.

  8. Then someone should veto Obama’s veto :p

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      I’ve felt that in recent years there’s been much more negative views
      and news stories about Apple due to their aggressive litigation.
      Instead of hearing about the latest great product Apple is releasing or
      working towards it’s another patent battle.

    2. Someone should just veto Obama period. (to the NSA technician reading this on you XKeyscore terminal: I meant that in the absolute most non-violentest way possible)

  9. Obama’s a fraud. And all the POTUS’s before him.

  10. The media elect President Obama siding Apple. Not surprised.

  11. Yes, it does set a precedent. Now Apple knows they don’t have to negotiate on patents because King Obama will just veto whatever punishment they’re given.

    1. Obama did not veto this. Read the actual news and not some dipshit story on a tech blog.

      1. Are we being a little pedantic? Of course Obama didn’t personally veto it; the guy he personally appointed to the job did it. Happy now?

  12. Thanks Obama..

  13. Thank you for the wisdom of our forefathers for the two term limit.

    1. More like our grandparents. The limit was established in the 1940s.

      1. Grandparents are forefathers too. Maybe you’re thinking founding fathers.

        1. True, forefathers can apply to even our parents, though it is rarely used in that fashion. Try using “forefather” instead of “Mom” at the dinner table sometime. You’d get odd looks, right? Hence I felt the desire to make the distinction.

          1. My parents weren’t alive in 1947. My grandpaents were though and and their parents were too, and if I was going to ask my father or mother about generations before them I might ask about our forefathers, and have in real life, in lieu of mentioning each one specifically.

            Forefathers: A member of the past generations of one’s family or people; an ancestor. The plural of forefather.
            If I was going to talk to my father about the great men who founded this great nation then I would talk to him about our founding fathers.

    2. who? that’s a recent law. thanks for paying attention in elementary school.

  14. Obama delegates this, as other presidents, so the title is misleading

    1. it also isn’t a veto… but who cares about facts anyway?

  15. Who is this guy Obama?

  16. I would be more OK with it if they would make Apple bring their profits back tot the US and pay their fair share of taxes.

    1. Google skips taxes too fanboy. Most corporations do.

  17. Obama had to veto rather than issue an EO, eh?

    1. it isn’t a veto, and he didn’t do it anyway.

  18. That would be fine if there are no more double standards. Apple shouldn’t be able to ban android oems either.

  19. Justice requires a single set of rules applied to all equally. That has not happened here. Nor did it happen under Judge Koh.

  20. uh…Obama didnt veto it. Some one in his admin did. it isnt like he’s saying…apple or NSA, which is a more important issue. this is what happened “U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman made the decision to veto the ban on the Apple devices, citing concerns about patent holders gaining “undue leverage” as well as potential harm to consumers and competitive conditions in the U.S. economy.”

    1. Most of the articles say “Obama Administration vetoes” or “White House (aka Obama Administration) vetoes)”. Michael Froman was nominated to the job by Obama on May 2, 2013. Does it really matter if it’s Obama or somebody he handpicked for the job? All of the reasons he cited pretty much disregard the original ITC ruling.

  21. wtf Obama!

  22. Really? What it boils down to….apple is still an american company. whats being said is ‘HELL to tha NAW, bobby’ you can’t ban imports of an american product.

    1. An American product that gets made in China.

  23. It wont stop the patent trolling, if anything encourages Apple to double down because now they know they have have the Democrat party in their back pocket.

    1. And what about the Republicans who wanted a veto?

  24. @sean mind your own business pal!! If I want to use the word GAY, then I’ll use it however way I want to. You’re GAY as well just because well, cuz you’re GAY….nuff said. Keep your nose out of what other people say….thanks

    1. You’re an ignorant fucktard.

    2. Little boy, you’re posting on a public site on the internet. If you want people to mind their own business, keep your idiocy to yourself. Now go run along, it’s past your bedtime.

  25. I can use whatever word I want. He’s a douche bag. And all the people who voted for his dumb a$$ is retarded as well. Especially voting for him a second time around. I’m not even into politic crap and I even know that our president is an idiot

    1. Actually, you’re the retard for busting a nut without the proper stimulation.

      Republicans AND Democrats didn’t want the ban and Obama had NOTHING to do with the decision. And since the writer of the article agreed with the veto, I guess he’s retarded too, huh?

      1. Bazinga x 2!! Good job Ed & above as well. Hence the reason this site has lost some luster in the last yr.

    2. you’re a retard. maybe get into “politic crap” so you can support your conclusion.

  26. Apple Bailout, too big to fail.

    if this was some other company they would have been steamrolled in court

  27. The reason this happened is bc one of two situations, either the apple lobbyists got to them (aka we’ll give you a giant donation for whatever purpose you like) or they already owed apple a big favor for maybe a large donation for a certain person’s reelection campaign. Happens in politics all the time.

  28. First things first: The title is misleading and judging from the number of blogs who are printing the same exact thing, a lot of cutting and pasting is going on without proper research being conducted.

    Obama did not “veto” the ban, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman did as evidenced in the following articles:

    http://www.latinospost.com/articles/24898/20130803/apple-vs-samsung-patent-lawsuit-update-obama-administration-ustr-rep.htm

    the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled Apple violated a Samsung patent, therefore, issued a ban of the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad 2 in the U.S., which would have gone into effect Aug. 5.

    The ITC then issued a 60-day grace period that allowed for President Barack Obama to veto the ban ruling. President Obama transferred the decision to the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

    As of Aug. 1, the ITC announced that it will extend its date to ban the imports of the Apple devices to Aug. 9. According to Reuters, the ITC did not provide a reason for the delay.

    On Aug. 3, USTR representative Michael Froman made the decision and vetoed the ITC’s ruling.

    “After extensive consultations with the agencies of the Trade Policy Staff Committee and the Trade Policy Review Group, as well as other interested agencies and persons, I have decided to disapprove the USITC’s determination to use an exclusion order and cease and desist order in this investigation,” wrote Froman. “This decision is based on my review of the various policy considerations discussed above as they relate to the effect on competitive conditions in the U.S. economy and the effect on the U.S. consumers.”

    Apple has issued a comment, via CNET, stating, “We applaud the Administration for standing up for innovation in this landmark case. Samsung was wrong to abuse the patent system in this way.”

    Samsung has yet to issue a statement.

    According to Bloomberg, no president has overturned an ITC import ban ruling since Ronald Reagan in 1987, coincidentally in a case involving Samsung.

    http://www.tuaw.com/2013/08/01/bipartisan-group-of-senators-sends-letter-about-trade-ban-to-us/

    According to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, a bipartisan group of senators has asked the Obama administration to veto a looming import ban against older iPhone and iPads. The letter, dated July 30, was sent to US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who holds the power to veto this ban. Signing their names to the letter were Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho).

    It’s amazing what can happen when you allow Google to be your friend.

    1. Thank you!

    2. Lmao. You did a Google search and already have more credibility than this “publication.”

  29. Dear not so smart guy that posted this article, how about doing some damn research before you post something? You’re article isn’t misleading, it’s flat out wrong. I’m done with this site and the lack of professionalism that it exudes.

    1. Agreed, this story is factually incorrect and jumps into politics that the author likely knows nothing about. Rob Jackson, clean this up

  30. gud news for apple lovers

    check smart pause for apple devices http://ilicensed.blogspot.com/2013/08/smart-pause-apple.html

  31. Lol@ the Obama “not bad” pic.

  32. Corrupt bastard. Enjoy that Apple payola, can’t wait for this bum to leave the WH and disinfect the place.

    1. because whoever comes in next will hate apple just as much as you do?

    2. Looking at your profile picture, maybe it is your mouth that needs disinfecting.

  33. So basically there is no journalistic integrity is what it boils down to. Misleading story misleading press leads to the bs we have here and in DC republican and Democrat. The only good people in DC are the ones who stand on principal period. Anyway apple really isn’t a US Company anymore thanks to you guessed it DC

    1. Yep, you can’t blame Apple or any other company for outsourcing, our government is pushing them out. The overbearing regulations by the government hurts the people not the corporations. It drive prices up for the consumers, forces mom and pop shops to close down, and forces corporations overseas forfeiting American jobs.

  34. Go figure.

  35. Obama knows Apple is an American company. He wouldn’t want to hurt American GDP. If it was Samsung, then he would ban. While i do not agree with this decision. I do understand why he made it…our economy is still recovering and we need cash flow.

    1. What cash flow? They don’t manufacture here nor do they pay the bulk of their taxes here. He’s basically rewarding a company that outsources and offshores.

    2. Samsung put more in the American economy than Apple did for the last 10 years. All he did was show he is once again supporting outsourcing and tax evasion. Sad but true. Just like every president before him, he only cares about the big corporations

  36. Oligarchy. Nuf said!

  37. He is showing his true colors more and more now days, a little bit of money in his pocket and BAM the ban is reversed.

    1. evidence to support your claim? or is libel your forté?

      1. Chicago.

        1. One of the most successful singular cities on the planet with an economy that’s the 21st largest in the world when divorced from the US? Larger economy than Switzerland, Belgium and Poland? OK……

          1. Chicago doesn’t have a successful economy on any level of any kind, the city has a huge long term debt problem of over 27 billion. How is that a successful city. We aren’t even getting to the good stuff of crime, education, corruption, etc…

            http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/13895641-418/2011-audit-shows-chicago-has-more-cash-and-growing-debt-load.html

          2. Yeah, they most certainly do have an incredible economy, and their struggles are relative to that fact. And what crime? Do you believe everything you see on Faux News? Because the crime rate is quite low compared to other cities in the US. The murder rate, since Faux News likes to focus on it, is 19 per 100000 – and while alarming – is low compared to cities with real crime problems, like Flint – and it’s murder rate of 66 per 100000.

            http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/2011/07/21/if-metros-were-countries/

          3. Flint isn’t a city that is on par with Chicago. that’s why it’s alarming. because chicago would be the 21st largest economy in the world according to where you cited that from. now we just went around in a circle lol

      2. no need for evidence…just google OBAMA IMPEACHMENT…all the reasons why for the impeachment…the veto ban is just another incident for impeachment

        1. You might want to Google “how do I get my GED” to assist in your quest. Not only was this not a veto, it was not President Obama that did it. Further unto your post, there’s no grounds in the realm of reality for impeachment. Being black while not being corrupt or shady like the entire Republican party is not a crime.

          1. You should look further into the whole game, if there is a true separation between republicans and democrats then why is the NSA spy program run the same under both? It’s just a facade to keep the peasants busy. I’m certainly not a liberal BTW.

    2. You’re just mad.
      Samsung abused the patent system and got slapped by Apple. Apple Wins.

  38. xD! Apple is finally getting what they deserve.

    1. A free pass to infringe on the property of others? That’s what Apple deserves?

      1. Oops, did not read the full article.

    2. Censoring yourself, eh? Lol

  39. I wonder how much campaign money Apple had given to Obama for his re-election. This is probably just be a return of favor.

  40. Obama did not “veto” the ban, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman did as evidenced in the following articles:

    http://www.latinospost.com/art

    the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled Apple violated a Samsung patent, therefore, issued a ban of the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad 2 in the U.S., which would have gone into effect Aug. 5.

    The ITC then issued a 60-day grace period that allowed for President Barack Obama to veto the ban ruling. President Obama transferred the decision to the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

    As of Aug. 1, the ITC announced that it will extend its date to ban the imports of the Apple devices to Aug. 9. According to Reuters, the ITC did not provide a reason for the delay.

    On Aug. 3, USTR representative Michael Froman made the decision and vetoed the ITC’s ruling.

    “After extensive consultations with the agencies of the Trade Policy Staff Committee and the Trade Policy Review Group, as well as other interested agencies and persons, I have decided to disapprove the USITC’s determination to use an exclusion order and cease and desist order in this investigation,” wrote Froman. “This decision is based on my review of the various policy considerations discussed above as they relate to the effect on competitive conditions in the U.S. economy and the effect on the U.S. consumers.”

    Apple has issued a comment, via CNET, stating, “We applaud the Administration for standing up for innovation in this landmark case. Samsung was wrong to abuse the patent system in this way.”

    Samsung has yet to issue a statement.

    According to Bloomberg, no president has overturned an ITC import ban ruling since Ronald Reagan in 1987, coincidentally in a case involving Samsung.

    http://www.tuaw.com/2013/08/01

    According to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, a bipartisan group of senators has asked the Obama administration to veto a looming import ban against older iPhone and iPads. The letter, dated July 30, was sent to US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who holds the power to veto this ban. Signing their names to the letter were Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho).

    It’s amazing what can happen when you allow Google to be your friend.

    1. The US Trade Representative acts with the authority and backing of the presidient, being an appointed official.

  41. how surprising a liberal hipster thats pro apple ?

  42. Let me go ahead and start off by apologizing for my previous posts…been having a rough weekend and have been a grump Lol…so forgive me for any rude comments and if I’ve offended anyone….although I still am against Obama, and I don’t like how he is running our country. That’s my opinion and am sticking with it. Same as anyone else who is all for him. I’m usually never the guy to argue back n forth with people over the internet Lol. I love Phandroid and Android and I wanna be cool with everyone on here. :)

  43. I’m surprised Kevin didn’t write this one.

    1. lol

  44. How is that hopey changey thing working out for you?

  45. Ahh what money can buy.. Friends and influence if you have the cash.

  46. i voted for Obama, but i am looking to veto my vote! he just lost me because is not fair were was he when apple is suing everyone else? and causing so much headache to the end user?

    1. I am mentally and physically tired. I did not want to use my brain power to correct interpret your sentence. LoL!!

      *where

      And “…is not fair…”? I’m guessing English isn’t your native tongue? I normally hear that line from people who don’t speak English.

      But yea. A weekend of drinking will make you feel like this on a Monday. LoL!!

  47. After a nice contribution to the demokratik party of amerika, Obama overturns the ban.

  48. The bans are really all just part of a big p-ing contest between mega corporations, and the Administration knows that a product ban wouldn’t be economically beneficial to the nation (or to people’s jobs) even if it benefits a corporation or two.

    While it may be a feel-good moment to see Apple getting a little comeuppance, nobody wins.

  49. With all the other issues that face this country. This is what he wastes our time and money on. Can’t wait till 2016

  50. Veto’s don’t really set precedent they are more of a case of an individual president. It’s not like a legal ruling.

  51. Android fans must be soooo butthurt

    1. Why would we be butthurt? This ruling doesn’t affect us whatsoever. We don’t worship at the feet of billion dollar corporations. We like are phones and that’s that . We don’t hold any allegiance to a single manufacturer like Apple fans do. That pathetic sheep mentality is something we can do without.

  52. I am just laughing at how everyone s taking this so personal.

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