International Trade Commission (ITC) found that Samsung had unfairly used Apple technology in some of its devices. It issued cease and desist orders banning further imports of some Samsung products.Apple won a seemingly decisive victory against Samsung in its patent-centric court battle last year, but the legal back-and-forth is far from over. Earlier, Apple alleged that Samsung used its touch-screen technology and audio socket in its smartphones and tablets.Samsung, however, said that the trade body’s decision will not hamper its sale of products in the US.

Samsung has been cutting into Apple's dominance in phones and is now the leading smartphone manufacturer. It is also pushing into Apple's territory with its own Android tablet computers.The legal disputes come as competition in the marketplace intensifies. These cases typically involve older products that are no longer widely sold.In the recent times, Samsung rose to number one position in global smartphone sales, beating Apple.Both the companies have been involved in patent disputes in about 10 markets.Samsung lawyer Kathleen Sullivan argued that monetary compensation would be an adequate remedy for any infringement.The dispute comes at a difficult moment for Apple, which is losing market share to smartphones using Google's Android operating system, many of which are made by Samsung. According to IDC, Apple's share in the worldwide smartphone operating system market fell in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same quarter last year. Android and Microsoft's Windows Phone both increased market share.