Apple has won a court order against rival Samsung to prevent the South Korean company from importing devices into the US that infringe on two key Apple patents.
The ruling was delivered during an ongoing legal battle between the two hardware giants across multiple global territories.
Further reading Samsung overtakes Apple in global mobile device web use Samsung scores patent win over Apple in surprise ITC ruling Apple found guilty of fixing e-book prices
The two Apple patents in question cover "screen multi-touch features" and "headphone jack detection". Newer Samsung devices work subtly around these patent restrictions, but many older models do not.
However, the ruling itself is unclear on which specific models of Samsung device will be affected by the import ban. But a review period – in which the ban will be addressed by President Obama's administration before going ahead – will enable Samsung to continue importing any models it likes.
During this time, however, Apple is still free to present its argument to US customs about specific models copying patents.
Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet said she felt the International Trade Commission had joined courts around the world in "standing up for innovation and rejecting Samsung's blatant copying of Apple's products".
In response, Samsung spokesperson Adam Yates said Apple had already been "stopped from trying to use its over-broad design patents to achieve a monopoly on rectangles and rounded corners", adding that the focus for the smartphone industry is "fair competition" in the global marketplace, rather than "global war in the courts".
