Apple and Samsung Electronics have agreed to drop their appeals of a patent-infringement case at the US International Trade Commission that resulted in an import ban on some older Samsung phones.

The import ban will remain in effect, according to a filing with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington dated June 13th. Details weren’t provided.

Adam Yates, a spokesman for Samsung, and Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, declined to say whether the companies had reached an agreement.

Appeals of district-court cases between the two are still pending.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, and South Korea-based Samsung are the world's two biggest makers of mobile phones and tablet computers. The patent wars, which have been going on for more than three years, have spread over four continents. Meanwhile, companies including Huawei Technology and ZTE have made inroads in lucrative markets such as China. (Bloomberg)