Obama administration urged to veto ITC’s iPhone 4 ban

Apple isn’t the only company unhappy with the International Trade Commission’s impending import ban on the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2. The Wall Street Journal reports that several big tech and telecom firms including Verizon, AT&T, Microsoft and Intel have all been pressing the Obama administration to veto the ITC’s ban on older Apple devices that is slated to take effect on August 4th. The Software Alliance trade group, which includes Microsoft, Intel and Oracle, has argued that such patent-related import bans should be extremely rare and only enforced under unique circumstances. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman has the authority to make the final call on whether the ITC’s ban stands and he says that he’s “conducting a careful and balanced review process of the ITC decision.” The ITC originally issued the import ban when it ruled that Apple’s older devices infringed upon a Samsung-held patent.

[More from BGR: Apple to release iOS 7 beta 4 today; two more betas planned, GM coming in September]

This article was originally published on BGR.com