Thomas Pender, of the International Trade Commission, passed down a ruling yesterday that could have some serious ramifications for Apple if the cards fall just right. Bloomberg reports that the ITC judge found the iPad-makers to be in violation of one of Motorola’s patents.
Motorola was actually suing Apple over four patents, so the fact that Apple was only found to be in violation of one is a victory in itself. But the patent it is being charged with infringing upon, an invention involving Wi-Fi, is a pretty crucial component for iOS devices…
An Apple spokesperson provided the following statement to AllThingsD regarding the ruling:
“We’re glad the court ruled in our favor on three of four patents being considered… The fourth covers industry-standard technology which Motorola has refused to license to Apple on reasonable terms. A court in Germany already declared this patent invalid, so we believe we will have a very strong case on appeal.”
Of course, Pender’s ruling still has to be reviewed by the rest of the Commission. And, as mentioned above, Apple still has a good chance of winning an appeal. But if this verdict holds up against the odds, Apple could face a U.S. ban on some of its most popular products.