WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics scored a point on Tuesday over global rival Apple Inc in their long-running battle over mobile device patents.

A U.S. trade body found the Silicon Valley giant had infringed on a patent owned by the Korean company and slapped a ban on the sale of certain older iPhone and iPad models sold by AT&T Inc.

The U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency, issued a limited order stopping all imports and sales for AT&T models of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G. The versions targeted are more than a year old but are still solid sellers.

All such exclusion orders are sent to President Barack Obama, who has 60 days to review them. If he does not veto the order, it goes into effect.

"We are disappointed that the commission has overturned an earlier ruling and we plan to appeal. Today's decision has no impact on the availability of Apple products in the United States," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said in a statement.

Designed to be a trade panel, the ITC has become a popular venue for patent lawsuits because it acts relatively quickly and it can order import bans, which are more difficult to get from district courts.

Samsung said in a statement that the ITC decision "confirmed Apple's history of free-riding on Samsung's technological innovations."

"Our decades of research and development in mobile technologies will continue and we will continue to offer innovative products to consumers in the United States," it said.

Tuesday's ruling overturned a decision by ITC Judge James Gildea, who ruled in September that Apple did not violate patents at issue in the case, which was filed in mid-2011.

Apple was found to infringe on a patent that relates to 3G wireless technology and the ability to transmit multiple services simultaneously and correctly. It is essential to ensuring that the devices are interoperable.

The U.S. Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the Patent and Trademark Office have all said that infringement of these "standard essential patents" should mostly be punished by monetary charges, not sales bans.

An exception would be in the rare instances where the infringer refuses to negotiate a license or to pay.

The usual expectation among companies has been that standard essential patents will be inexpensively licensed to anyone.

Samsung, which is battling Apple in court in some 10 countries, had also accused Apple of infringing on three other patents, but the ITC found that Apple did not infringe these.

Apple has a parallel complaint filed against Samsung at the ITC, accusing Samsung, an Apple chip provider, of blatantly copying its iPhones and iPads. An ITC judge in that case found that Samsung had violated one patent but not a second one. A final decision is due in August.

Apple has waged an international patent war since 2010 as it seeks to limit the growth of Google's Android system. The fight has embroiled Samsung, HTC and others that use Android.

The ITC's decision came on the same day that President Barack Obama weighed in on curbing a totally different type of patent lawsuit - those brought by companies called "patent trolls." The disparaging name is because these companies make or sell nothing, but they specialize in suing others for infringement. Obama asked for new federal regulations on these concerns and action from Congress.

The offensive - announced before Obama makes a fundraising trip this week to California's Silicon Valley - came as U.S. lawmakers and courts are seeking ways to reduce the number of unwarranted patent lawsuits.

Samsung did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case at the International Trade Commission is No. 337-794.

(Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta in San Francisco.; Editing by Ros Krasny, Bob Burgdorfer and Christopher Wilson)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc wrote its largest-ever check for a subscription-streaming deal, securing hundreds of mostly childrens' TV programs from Viacom Inc for its Internet video service and ratcheting up pressure on rival Netflix.

Amazon's deal with Viacom gives the world's largest Internet retailer broader access to hit shows including "Dora the Explorer" and "SpongeBob SquarePants." Netflix had previously conceded that losing access to those shows would be a blow.

Amazon agreed to pay more than $200 million to Viacom for the license, its largest subscription-streaming transaction ever, a person familiar with the deal said. A second person familiar said the deal would run more than two years and included a deeper library of content than the prior Netflix agreement.

The Amazon-Viacom pact comes just days after Netflix stopped streaming popular Nickelodeon programming, following the expiration of its deal with the company.

The deal includes about 4,000 TV episodes that will be available to stream for free on Amazon Prime Instant Video. This service is free for subscribers to Amazon's Prime program, which, for $79 a year offers free two-day shipping in the United States for items purchased through Amazon.

Part of the payment went to secure exclusive subscription streaming rights to several shows from Viacom's Nick Jr channel, including the "Dora" franchise, "Go Diego Go!," "Blue's Clues" and "The Backyardigans."

Amazon is spending heavily on video content as it competes with Netflix and Hulu for a piece of the fast-growing market for TV and movies delivered over the Internet. Childrens' shows are among the most-watched on Amazon's service, according to Bill Carr, the company's vice president for digital video and music.

Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings, in a CNBC interview last week, said his service still had plenty of content for children but losing the Viacom programming could hurt.

"If you're a parent and your child's looking for 'Blue's Clues,' you know, that is definitely a problem," he said, while noting that Netflix still has programming from the likes of Disney and Cartoon Network.

In early May, Netflix announced a new multiyear license agreement with Walt Disney Co that gave Netflix the exclusive right to stream "Jake and the Never Land Pirates," along with access to other Disney shows including "Handy Manny."

Viacom's shares rose 1 percent to $67.575 in morning trading, while Netflix shares were up 1.4 percent at $225. Amazon gained 44 cents to $267.34.

(Reporting by Alistair Barr; Additional reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Richard Pullin and Maureen Bavdek)

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Despite having just fired so much of his staff, Pincus manages to remain optimistic about the future of not just his company but the people he's sending toward unemployment. "We're offering generous severance packages that reflect our appreciation for all of their work and we hope this will provide a foundation as they pursue their next professional steps," Pincus writes, before getting to the part where the move will help continue the company's "mission of connecting the world through games." He continues: "Although these are hard decisions, I'm confident that our strategy of building leading franchises and supporting them with the largest network is the right one for the long term. I'm encouraged by our recent progress."

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While the very sadis trading slightly up — about one cent — on the news, Swisher's sources say Zynga had to lay so many people off because its web business has done worse than anticipated, while mobile games haven't exactly come to save the day. So far the "mobile first" strategy hasn't provided a lift, with the Farmville-style social games that made Zynga such a major player in that space failing to translate to phone-only. Hoping to get more people hooked, however, Zynga will invest in so-called "midcore" games, which take more concentration from players than tilling a virtual farm. In a recent earnings call, Pincus claimed midcore titles had "monetization that's running at roughly 15 times what we've seen across our With Friends titles on a per-player basis."

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That's got to be (slightly) encouraging for Pincus and his shareholders, but probably not so much to the 520 people who just lost their jobs. But, hey, at least they get a "generous severance" as they head out looking for jobs in that , right?

Some pretty big names, led by Alex Rodriguez, could be on the hot seat.

A-Rod, Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz, Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon are among the 20 or so players who may be disciplined for their links to the now-closed Miami anti-aging clinic, Biogenesis of America.

The players' union says it has been assured no decisions regarding discipline will be made until the interviews are completed.

"It would be unfortunate if anyone prejudged those investigations," union head Michael Weiner said in a statement Wednesday.

And it appears the process has a while to run.

Interviews with players started three weeks ago and are scheduled until the end of June, according to people with knowledge of the process who spoke on condition of anonymity because statements on those details weren't authorized. Dan Halem, Steven Gonzalez and Patrick Houlihan, lawyers in baseball's labor relations department, conducted several interviews, and some players haven't been scheduled.

"Every player has been or will be represented by an attorney from the players' association," Weiner said. "The players' association has every interest in both defending the rights of players and in defending the integrity of our joint (drug) program. We trust that the commissioner's office shares these interests."

MLB has been seeking the cooperation of Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch since Miami New Times reported in January that it obtained what the paper said were records detailing drug purchases by Rodriguez, Cabrera, Cruz and Colon. Yahoo Sports reported that Braun, the 2011 NL MVP, was mentioned in the records.

MLB sued Biogenesis and its operators in a Florida court in March, an attempt to pressure Bosch. A person familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Tuesday night that Bosch agreed to talk to MLB, a deal first reported by ESPN. MLB wants to speak with Bosch in the next few days,

"Due to ongoing litigation, it would be inappropriate to comment on any aspect of this matter at this time," Bosch's lawyer, Susy Ribero-Ayala, said in a statement.

Among the players linked to the clinic, Cabrera, Colon and San Diego catcher Yasmani Grandal already have served 50-game suspensions following positive tests for testosterone announced by MLB last year.

"It looks like it could be getting to the bottom of this and finding some information that hopefully would help Major League Baseball as far as cleaning this game up," said San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy, who managed Cabrera last year. "I always thought they should be a little stricter to keep these players from trying to beat the system and cheat. I'm all for stiffer penalties."

Once MLB interviews Bosch and the players, it will have to determine what penalties to impose.

"WADA commends the decision of Major League Baseball to seek suspension of an estimated 20 players," World Anti-Doping Agency Director General David Howman said in a statement.

"More and more, information and evidence gathered in the investigative process is proving an effective means of uncovering doping in sport. MLB has approached this issue in a professional way, and the evidence gathered will undoubtedly be pivotal," Howman said.

Any suspensions for first offenders would be put on hold if the union files a grievance, a process that would put the matter in front of an arbitrator and delay possible sanctions for weeks or months. Second offenders would serve suspensions during the grievance process.

Baseball's drug agreement calls for a 50-game suspension for a first violation, 100 for a second and a lifetime ban for a third for positive tests for banned PEDS or their use or possession. The agreement also allows discipline for "just cause" for a violation not specified.

Any player disciplined could file an individual grievance, and it isn't likely that cases would be combined into one proceeding. If Bosch testifies at a hearing, he would be subject to cross-examination, and players' lawyers likely would try to attack his credibility.

The Florida Department of Health sent Bosch an unlicensed activity citation on April 25, accusing him of practicing medicine without a license from 2009 through 2012 and asking him to sign a "cease and desist agreement." That action was first reported by the New York Daily News on May 6.

Most players have denied the Biogenesis link either directly or through spokesmen or lawyers.

Rodriguez admitted in 2009 that he used performance-enhancing drugs while with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03. As baseball's highest-paid player with a $28 million salary this year, he would lose $7.65 million during a 50-game ban.

Rodriguez, who turns 38 next month, has not played since hip surgery in January and is not expected to be available to the New York Yankees until after the All-Star break. The third baseman, a three-time AL MVP, has been working out since May at the team's minor league complex in Tampa, Fla., and he drove past reporters without stopping when he arrived and left three hours later Wednesday after batting practice, fielding and agility drills.

A-Rod drove a black Chevrolet SUV rather than the black Maybach he usually arrives in

In addition to Rodriguez, Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli was linked to the clinic. Cervelli, currently on the DL because of a broken hand, said he consulted Biogenesis for a foot injury, but didn't receive any treatment.

"My focus is not on what MLB is investigating. I don't want to get caught up in that," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "My job is to manage the guys in the clubhouse."

Girardi said the Yankees still planned for Rodriguez to rejoin the team after the All-Star break. Asked what he would do if A-Rod were suspended 100 games, Girardi responded: "We'll cross that bridge."

Braun's 50-game suspension for a positive test was overturned by an arbitrator in February 2012 after the union filed a grievance and challenged the handling of his urine sample. Braun has acknowledged he was mentioned in Biogenesis records because his lawyers used Bosch as a consultant during the grievance.

After the Brewers' 4-3, 10-inning win over Oakland at Miller Park on Tuesday night, the 2011 NL MVP said he was finished talking about the clinic.

"I've already addressed everything related to the Miami situation. I addressed it in spring training. I will not make any further statements about it," he said. "The truth has not changed."

Braun said the speculation hasn't affected him on the field.

"No, of course not. I've dealt with this for two years now. I'm pretty good at avoiding distractions," he said.

___

AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker, AP Sports Writers Stephen Wilson and Josh Dubow, AP Legal Affairs Writer Curt Anderson and AP freelance writer Mark Didtler contributed to this report.

Barbara's wind speeds hit 75 mph (120 kph), as its center swirled just about 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It was moving north-northeast toward land at about 10 mph (17 kph), toward a sparsely populated stretch of coast.

Officials in the southern state of Oaxaca rushed to prepare emergency shelters and suspended classes for school children in coastal communities as rain began to lash the coast.

The stretch of coast west of the railway town of Arriaga where Barbara would make landfall is a largely undeveloped stretch of coastal lagoons, punctuated by small fishing villages. The major oil port of Coatzacoalcos is located on the other side of the narrow waist of Mexico known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. But the center said the storm should weaken rapidly once it hits land, well before reaching Coatzacoalcos.

Mexico issued a hurricane warning for the Pacific coast from Puerto Angel to Barra de Tonala.

Oaxaca state Civil Defense Director Manuel Maza Sanchez said ports had been closed to navigation in tourist resorts of Puerto Angel, Puerto Escondido and Huatulco, all located more than 120 miles (200 kilometers) to the west.

Rain had begun to fall along the coast Wednesday, flooding some homes, he said.

Maza Sanchez said classes would be cancelled at schools along the coast for the rest of the week, and that storm shelters were being set up in 20 towns and hamlets.

Such shelters are frequently installed at local schools.

Barbara is expected to quickly lose strength once it hits land.

Mexico's National Meteorological Service said that, while the remnants may enter the Gulf of Mexico on the other side of the isthmus, "it will be so weakened that it is unlikely to regain strength."

Last month, Senator Portman voted against the bipartisan background check legislation sponsored by NRA A-rated Senators Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey the only bill that would have required background checks for commercial gun sales and improved the background check system. Senator Portman has cited his support for background checks but actually voted for a bill created by the gun lobby and sponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley and Ted Cruz that would have made it easier for the dangerously mentally ill to get guns. More information on Senator Portman's votes, with background on both bills, is

What: ProgressOhio, with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, brings together Newtown and Aurora gun violence survivors, Ohio law enforcement, faith leaders and community leaders to ask Senator Portman to rethink his vote against life-saving background checks

Who: Stephen Barton, survivor of Aurora, CO shootingDayton Police Chief Richard BiehlSenior Pastor Rev. Sherry L. Gale, Ph.D of Grace United Methodist ChurchReverend Doctor William Harris, Jr. of Believers Christian Fellowship ChurchTerri Rousseau and Bill Leukhardt, daughter killed in the Newtown, CT shootingMembers of Sisters of the Precious BloodCarlee Soto, sister killed in the Newtown, CT shootingBret Thompson, ProgressOhioDayton City Commissioner Nan Whaley

Where: Dayton Cultural and RTA Center40 S. Edwin C. Moses BoulevardDayton, OH, 45402

When: Wednesday, May 22 at 2 PM

ProgressOhio is statewide multi-issue advocacy organization.

About Mayors Against Illegal GunsSince its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 members to more than 950 mayors from across the country. We have more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters, making us the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country. The bipartisan coalition, co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, has united the nation's mayors around these common goals: protecting communities by holding gun offenders accountable; demanding access to crime gun trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to combat gun trafficking; and working with legislators to fix weaknesses and loopholes in the law that make it far too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns. Learn more at

MEDIA CONTACTDenise Gastesi:or 614-562-4768Kate Downen:or 406-224-5056

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns

"There's a few chapters before we get to the last one. So it's up to us to connect the dots first," RNC chairman Reince Priebus told reporters when asked about impeachment ahead of a New Hampshire GOP fundraiser.

Some conservatives have compared recent IRS wrongdoing to the Watergate scandal, and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., last week raised the prospect of impeachment.

"There isn't a weekend that hasn't gone by that someone says to me, 'Michele, what in the world are you all waiting for in Congress? Why aren't you impeaching the president? He's been making unconstitutional actions since he came into office,'" Bachmann said during a Washington news conference with tea party leaders.

Paul, a tea party favorite who is considering a 2016 presidential bid, said such rhetoric is premature.

"We need to figure out the truth of what happened before we go anywhere else," Paul said, standing at Priebus' side.

The Internal Revenue Service has acknowledged inappropriate scrutiny of tea party groups applying for tax-exempt status ahead of the last election.

White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior presidential advisers knew in late April that an upcoming report was likely to find that IRS employees had targeted conservative political groups. The White House said McDonough and the other advisers did not tell Obama about the impending report, leaving him to learn the results from news reports later.

The issue has given conservatives a new rallying cry following a disappointing 2012 election cycle. But some GOP leaders worry their criticism could backfire if it appears their attacks appear too politically motived.

While striking a moderate tone on impeachment, Paul said Monday that it "stretches credulity" to think no one else in the Obama administration knew about the misconduct.

"For goodness sake, somebody's got to be fired, if not go to prison," he said in an evening speech to roughly 500 New Hampshire Republicans gathered in the state capital.

Priebus blamed Obama for creating a culture of political "guerrilla warfare" that allowed politics to infiltrate the IRS.

"I think this is just the beginning. It's certainly not the end," Priebus said. "And I'm sure there's going to be a lot more to it. We'll see how far it goes. We'll see how high it goes, too."

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper was under intense pressure on Monday to reassure voters that his administration is above reproach amid questions surrounding a secret check paid to Senator Mike Duffy.

"There's been nothing under this prime minister's watch that's tied him so closely to such a massive ethical scandal. We need to see him show leadership," opposition New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Charlie Angus told a news conference.

Harper's chief of staff, Nigel Wright, resigned on Sunday after news broke that he had written a check from his own bank account for C$90,000 ($88,000) to enable Duffy to repay to the government housing allowances which should not have been claimed.

Senators are banned by their ethics rules from receiving gifts related to their position, and Harper has given no indication of disapproval, saying on Sunday that he accepted that "Nigel believed he was acting in the public interest."

Harper led the Conservatives into office in 2006 on a promise of cleaning up the misdeeds of the previous Liberal government, and has since been reelected twice.

Though he has a parliamentary majority, he is facing a restive caucus and polling numbers that bode trouble for his party in the October 2015 general election, if things are not turned around.

On behalf of the New Democrats, Angus wrote to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Monday to ask for an investigation into the C$90,000 check.

In particular, he cited news reports that an arrangement was made under which Duffy would stay silent, and that a Senate committee report into Duffy's expense claims were altered or "white-washed."

The Senate committee denied any pressure from the prime minister's office, though it has reopened its investigation after new questions were raised about Duffy's expenses. Duffy said when he resigned from the Conservative caucus on Thursday that he had "sought only to do the right thing" throughout the entire situation.

Harper has called a special meeting of the Conservative parliamentary caucus on Tuesday morning before heading to Latin America on a planned visit, where he is expected to urge probity but is also likely to face complaints from legislators.

"Conservatives are angry and want to get to the bottom of it," Conservative strategist Tim Powers told CBC television.

He added that he wished Duffy and Pam Wallin, another Harper appointee whose expenses are under question and who has resigned from caucus, would go further and resign from the Senate.

Outspoken Conservative Member of Parliament Brent Rathgeber told Global television on Sunday about anger back home: "Any suggestion that taxpayers are treated disrespectfully is met with significant concern, I would say even angst."

One prominent New Democrat legislator, Peter Julian, even went so far as to send out a Tweet with the hash tag #PMHarperMustResign, saying the Conservatives' "poor financial management...& scandals & entitlement" were only matched by the former Liberal government.

In a subsequent email to Reuters he clarified that he did not necessarily endorse the #PMHarperMustResign slogan, which did not originate with him, but wanted to contribute to the discussion about it some elements that had not been mentioned.

NDP spokesman Kiavash Najafi said the party was not calling for Harper's resignation.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

"There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people," LaPierre said.

LaPierre gave five examples of "vicious, ": "Bulletstorm," "Grand Theft Auto," "Mortal Kombat" and "Splatterhouse," plus the obscure Flash-based online game "Kindergarten Killer."

But there's one kind of violent video game LaPierre didn't mention at all. Those would be military-themed shooters, such as the best-selling "" and "Medal of Honor" series, as well as the Pentagon-produced "America's Army."

Unlike the games LaPierre did name, the military shooters exalt American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, and the targets being shot at are Nazis, Russians, terrorists and zombies.

Retired service members serve as paid consultants to the game makers, who strive to make the weaponry depicted as true-to-life as possible. Active-duty members of Navy SEAL Team Six werefor consulting on "Medal of Honor: Warfighter."

And, as mentioned, the U.S. Army produces and distributes "America's Army" itself as a recruiting and training tool.

Yet such games are not without controversy. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," released in 2009, contains an optional level called "No Russian" which realistically depicts a massacre of unarmed civilians in a Russian airport.

In the "No Russian" level, the playable character is an undercover CIA agent who has infiltrated a terrorist group and must take part in the massacre. The player can shoot and kill non-playable civilian characters, although no points are awarded for doing so and no points are deducted for not firing a weapon.

Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian spree killer who shot 69 people, mostly teenagers, in July 2011, later testified at his own trial that he used "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" to train himself to use holographic .

So why didn't LaPierre mention the single game that has been conclusively linked to an incident of mass killing, not to mention an entire category that trains players in the proper handling and use of military-grade weapons?

The NRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Comcast-owned network made a surprise comeback in the final months of 2012 after years in the ratings basement. The network's viewership jumped 24 percent among the 18- to 49-year-old age group that advertisers crave, the only increase among the four major TV broadcast networks.

Critics are skeptical of whether NBC can stay on top of its competitors through the rest of the TV season. The NBC schedule received a boost in the fall from "Sunday Night Football," singing competition "The Voice," and new drama "Revolution." NFL football games are gone from NBC until next fall, and "The Voice" and "Revolution" will not return until March 25.

Greenblatt said he was "totally prepared" for NBC ratings to decline in the coming weeks. "I think it's inevitable," Greenblatt told reporters at a meeting of the Television Critics Association.

He said NBC had a "very robust" mid-season plan that includes new shows such as "1600 Penn," a comedy about a First Family living in the White House; soapy "Deception" about a murder in a wealthy family; and "Do No Harm," a thriller about a neurosurgeon.

"I'm hoping that out of this new crop of shows we'll get lucky," Greenblatt said.

He said he decided to keep "Revolution" off the air until late March, rather than bringing it back in January, so the rest of the show's first season can run without being interrupted by repeats.

"It's a little bit more of a cable model," Greenblatt said. "If you market properly and have the goods, and then you can run them all in a row without repeats, I actually think that's the better long-term play," he said.

When "The Voice" returns, it will have new judges Usher and Shakira in place of Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green. NBC also is bringing back Broadway musical drama "Smash" for a second season starting in February.

Greenblatt began his presentation to reporters and TV critics with a litany of ratings numbers from the fall season, many with double-digit percentage gains.

"I'm going to bore you with some statistics," he said, "because I'm not sure when I'm going to have the chance to do this again."

(Reporting By Lisa Richwine; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)