Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics agreed to drop their appeals of a patent-infringement case at the U.S. 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 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington dated today. Details were not provided, and 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.

Samsung had been seeking to overturn the ban, while Apple was trying to revive other patent claims it lost. The focus now turns to Samsung’s efforts to reverse two jury verdicts it lost and Apple’s bid to halt sales of newer Samsung products. Last month, each blamed the other for their inability to reach a global settlement.

The Federal Circuit on May 14 rebuffed Samsung’s efforts to revive patent claims it lodged against Apple at the trade agency. The decision, in which the appeals court did not issue a written opinion, was posted a week after arguments were heard.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, and Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung are the world’s 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. In the meantime, other companies including Huawei Technology Co. and ZTE Corp. have made inroads in lucrative markets such as China. (Bloomberg)