The iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel could face a US import and sales ban after the US International Trade Commission (USITC) opened an investigation into an alleged patent infringement affecting audio technology. The inquiry also extends to certain audio accessories and tablets sold by the three manufacturers.
The USITC will examine whether Apple, Google and Samsung breached section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by importing into the United States and selling “certain electronic devices with certain audio technologies that infringe certain claims of the patents asserted by the complainant.”
BoomCloud 360 and the spatial audio patents
The complainant is BoomCloud 360 Inc., based in Encinitas, California. The company claims that Apple, Google and Samsung have infringed three patents relating to spatial audio, a technology that creates surround sound and allows listeners to identify where sounds are coming from. The patents cited are US Patent No. 10,524,078, US Patent No. 11,533,560, and US Patent No. 11,051,121.
BoomCloud 360 has asked the USITC to issue a limited exclusion order alongside cease and desist orders. Such measures would prevent Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics America Inc. and Google LLC from importing into the US and selling products that infringe the patents in question.
A precedent set by the Apple Watch case
A ban of this kind is not without precedent. Following a patent dispute over the technology behind the pulse oximeter in certain Apple Watch models, the USITC issued a limited exclusion order in October 2023. Apple pre-emptively halted US online sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, followed by in-store sales, on 21 December and 24 December 2023 respectively.
The pulse oximeter measures blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), the percentage of oxygen carried by red blood cells from the lungs to the rest of the body. A reading of 95% to 100% is considered normal.
President Joe Biden declined to veto the USITC exclusion order, prompting Apple to release a software update that removed the pulse oximeter feature from the affected Apple Watch models. Once removed, Apple was permitted to resume US sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2.
Apple subsequently developed a redesigned blood oxygen feature that did not rely on Masimo’s patents. In March 2026, an ITC Administrative Law Judge ruled that the redesigned feature did not infringe Masimo’s patent, leading the ITC to close the case and reject Masimo’s request to reinstate the ban.
In the current matter, an exclusion order issued by the USITC could restrict the importation and sale of the affected devices from all three manufacturers.
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Image: phonearena.com
