ITC hands Apple initial victory in Samsung’s patent suit

The U.S. International Trade Commission in an initial finding said Apple’s iPhones, iPods and iPads don’t violate Samsung’s patents, handing the mega tech firm another victory in a contentious patent war between the world’s biggest handset makers. The decision was preliminary and must be voted on by the whole commission. But it set Samsung back another step as the ITC both defended and fired its own shots at Apple. ITC Judge James Gildea disagreed with Samsung’s allegations that Apple violated four of its patents being used in the iPhone, iPod and iPad. The ITC handles global patent disputes and has the ability to block imports of infringing products.