The International Trade Commission (ITC) will review a potentially key decision in the patent fight between Samsung and Apple over smartphones and tablets.
The US trade panel, which specialises in patent disputes, also sent part of the dispute back to judge, who ruled in October that Samsung, the world's top maker of smartphones, infringed four Apple patents but did not violate two others.
The commission said it would review the judge's decision, and asked the agency judge to take a second look at portions of two patents where he had found that Samsung infringed.
One of the patents in question allows the use of a headset with the smartphone while the other allows the device to show an image on a screen with a second, translucent image over it.
Apple had filed a complaint in mid-2011, accusing Samsung of infringing its patents in making its Captivate, Transform and Fascinate smartphones, as well as the Galaxy Tablet.
Apple is waging war on several fronts against Google, whose Android software powers many of Samsung's devices.
The battles between Apple and Samsung have taken place in some 10 countries as they vie for market share in the booming mobile industry.
