Apple can continue selling iPhone 4 after US reprieve

SAN FRANCISCO: Samsung Electronics' patent-infringement victory over Apple turned hollow after President Barack Obama's administration overturned an order barring shipments of some older iPhone models into the US.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman, designated by Obama to review the case, said a ban on versions of the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 3G was unwarranted, based on his consideration of public-policy issues regarding patents on fundamental technology for mobile devices.

It was the first time the executive branch has overturned an import ban ordered by the US International Trade Commission since 1987, when President Ronald Reagan did so in a case involving Samsung computer-memory chips. The dispute is the latest in a series of spats between the world's two biggest smartphone vendors, underscoring their battle for dominance of a market that was worth $293.9 billion last year