According to the US International Trade Commission (ITC), Sharp Corp has violated a patent held by rival Samsung Electronics - as such the Commission passed an "exclusion order" on Wednesday, blocking the imports of some of the Sharp-manufactured liquid-crystal display (LCD) televisions and computer monitors in the US.

The "exclusion order" by the Washington agency is conditional on evaluation by the US President, and the causal patent case can also be appealed to a US court specializing in patent law.

In the ruling that has been decided in favor of Samsung - the world's leading manufacturer of LCDs -, the company had alleged that some Sharp products infringed one of its patents pertaining to LCDs. In its December-filed complaint, Samsung had mentioned that some models in the Aquos line of high-definition TVs were among those made and sold by Sharp that violated the patent.

The US scuffle over the infringement of patented technology for LCDs had been ongoing between the Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung and the Osaka, Japan-based Sharp. Surprisingly, earlier this month a trade judge recommended the ban of Samsung TVs, monitors and professional displays in ban in the US, saying that they infringed four Sharp patents.

Reacting to the ITC "exclusion order" against Sharp, the company's spokeswoman, Miyuki Nakayama, said in Tokyo: "We're considering an appeal."