South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, infringed on Apple patents to make its smartphones and tablets, a U.S. trade panel judge said in a preliminary decision issued on Wednesday.

Apple had filed a complaint in mid-2011, accusing Samsung of infringing on its patents in making its Captivate, Transform and Fascinate smartphones as well as the Galaxy Tablet.

Judge Thomas Pender said that Samsung infringed on four Apple patents but did not violate two others listed in the complaint.

The full International Trade Commission will decide in February whether to uphold or reject the judge's decision.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)