Samsung loses $1 billion in market value following Obama’s iPhone ban veto

President Obama on Saturday reversed a sales ban on Apple’s iPhone 4 and iPad 2 that was set to go into effect on Monday. The ban had previously been ordered by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which had determined that Apple’s previous-generation mobile devices infringed a Samsung-owned patent and could therefore not be sold in the United States. Following the President’s veto, Samsung shares slid on Monday on the Korean exchange as investors grew concerned that the decision might have implications for Samsung’s patent rights. Samsung’s stock closed down just one point at 1,274,000 won but as The Wall Street Journal noted, that slight dip cost Samsung more than $1 billion in market value. “We are disappointed that the U.S. Trade Representative has decided to set aside the exclusion order issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC),” Samsung said in a statement on Saturday in response to the veto. “The ITC’s decision correctly recognized that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith and that Apple remains unwilling to take a license.”