News Update: The U.S. Government will be banning the sale of some Samsung products inside of the United States.

The Samsung Problem

It's really big news when the sale of certain products is banned in a country, but even bigger news when that country is the U.S. As a democratic country, the U.S. doesn't usually ban products - but Samsung is an exception to that rule, it seems.

On Tuesday, at midnight, a ban will be placed on all Samsung products that infringe on Apple products and devices. The products that the government has named as part of the ban include mostly older Samsung models that have been found, in court, to directly infringe on Apple products. Newer Samsung models work around those patent infringements, so consumers don't need to worry about the sale of the latest Samsung devices.

The Banned List

There is no direct word yet on what products will be banned. However, you can expect that most of the older Samsung devices will be on the ban list. If you have an older Samsung device, you don't need to worry. The government won't be restricting the usage of these devices, but it does mean that both brick and mortar and online electronic stores can no longer sell various Samsung products.

For obvious reasons, this is not good news to retailers that currently have banned Samsung products in stock. The ban will mean a loss of revenue for these retailers. But, the government has found that Samsung's direct patent infringement means that Apple's products deserve more shelf space, and this is an argument that the two companies have been having for some time now.

Across the Globe

Samsung and Apple have been fighting in courts across the world for patent rights. In the U.S., Apple is the clear winner, though this isn't the case in every country. In some parts of the world, Apple products are infringing on Samsung patents, and vice versa. When will the madness stop? When the two companies start to think differently or stop stealing each other's technology ideas.

Is that like? Probably not in the near future. The problem here is that both companies are seeking to target consumers, and that means trying to figure out what consumers want. So, if consumers want one specific thing, that's what both Apple and Samsung have to provide - even if it means a definite court battle.

Back to the Ban

Antitrust authorities in the U.S. aren't happy about this decision to ban Samsung device. Some argue that the royalties should be paid for patent usage, but that banning devices is really not the way to go. Regardless, the ban goes into effect this evening.

What do you think of this new ban? Is a ban on Samsung products warranted? If you sell Samsung products, is this new ban going to impact your bottom line? For now, there's nothing that retailers can do about the ban than to sit back and wait. Samsung, too, no longer has control over this dilemma.